Mayan Maize God in a Corn Husk in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 2022

Title: Maize God in corn husk

Date: 7th–9th century

Geography: Mexico

Culture: Maya

Medium: Ceramic, pigment

Dimensions: H. 5 1/2 × W. 2 5/8 × D. 1 1/2 in., Approx. 1 lb. (14 × 6.7 × 3.8 cm, 0.5 kg)

Classification: Ceramics-Sculpture

Credit Line: The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Gift of Frank Carroll in memory of Frank and Eleanor Carroll, 2015.27

Accession Number: SL.2.2022.9.4


Emerging as a corn cob from a husk, or a pistil from a flower, the Maize God depicted here is a metaphor for new growth and regeneration. Though often portrayed in an active pose, bending, swaying, or dancing, these versions of the deity represent him as still, with arms crossed. The heads of these figurines conceal whistling mechanisms: when air is blown through the long, hollow stem it produces a high-pitched sound.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/843925