Mayan Panel with a Royal Woman in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 2022

Title: Panel with royal woman

Artist: K'in Lakam Chahk

Artist: Jun Nat Omootz

Date: 795

Geography: Guatemala or Mexico, Usumacinta River region

Culture: Maya

Medium: Limestone

Dimensions: H. 23 3/4 × W. 27 1/2 × D. 4 in. 80 lbs (60.4 × 69.8 × 10.2 cm, 36.3 kg)

Classification: Stone-Architectural

Credit Line: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1962.32

Accession Number: SL.2.2022.4.1

An elegant woman holds up K’awiil, the lightning god, who gestures toward her as if in conversation. Recognizable by his serpent foot and the smoky axe emerging from his forehead, K’awiil was often evoked by rulers celebrating important ritual events.


Likely once part of a palace interior at a center affiliated with Piedras Negras, this panel, as with others from the area, bears two signatures, carved in low relief on either side of the royal woman. Sculptor K’in Lakam Chahk also collaborated in the creation of Throne 1, on view nearby.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/820272