Effigy Cacao Beans in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, May 2018

Effigy Cacao Beans

Date: ca. A.D. 800

Geography: Mexico, Yucatan

Culture: Maya

Medium: Shell

Dimensions: H. 9/16 × W. 3/8 × D. 1/4 in. (1.4 × 1 × 0.7 cm)

Classification: Shell

Credit Line: Museo Regional de Antropología de Yucatán, Palacio Cantón, Secretaría de Cultura-INAH, Mérida (10-626558 0/136)

These effigy cacao beans accompanied Ukit Kan Lek Tok’, ruler of Ek’ Balam, in his tomb. The artist(s) cleverly used one traded luxury good, marine shell, to imitate another, cacao. Cacao beans, frequently offered as tribute, were used to make frothy, bitter beverages.


Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/747643