Mayan Conch Shell Trumpet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 2022

Title: Conch-shell trumpet

Date: 4th–6th century

Geography: Guatemala, Peten

Culture: Maya

Medium: Conch shell, hematite

Dimensions: H. 9 × W. 4 3/4 × D. 3 in. (22.9 × 12.1 × 7.6 cm)

Classification: Shell-Musical Instruments

Credit Line: Loan courtesy of the Chrysler Museum of Art, gift of Edwin Pearlman and museum purchase

In Maya belief, objects are animated beings who eat, drink, breathe, and have agency. This conch-shell trumpet is enlivened by imagery made visible in two orientations: when viewed with the spires down, a face is revealed; when viewed in the present orientation, an inscription spells the object’s name. Two youthful deities are incised on the surface of the shell—the lunar Maize God, seated on a pillow, and a solar deity, Juun Pu’w, seen here with large black sores, holding a serpent in one arm.


Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/854912