Maya Vessel with a Scribe in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 2022

Title: Vessel with scribe

Date: 4th–5th century

Geography: Mexico, Campeche

Culture: Maya

Medium: Ceramic

Dimensions: H. 9 1/16 × W. 7 1/4 × D. 7 1/4 in., 4.4 lb. (23 × 18.4 × 18.4 cm, 2 kg)

Classification: Ceramics-Vessels

Credit Line: Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City, Secretaría de Cultura–Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia

Accession Number: SL.2.2022.13.4


This lidded vessel was an offering in the burial of an important lord at Calakmul. It contained the remains of food that was prepared for the deceased in the afterlife. The figure on the lid defies certain identification, but pointed deer ears projecting above the earspools suggest that it is a scribe, or perhaps a monkey deity, the patron god of scribes.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/820325