Maya Ceramic Vessel in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 2022

Title: Cylinder vessel

Date: 7th–9th century

Geography: Guatemala or Mexico

Culture: Maya

Medium: Ceramic, pigment

Dimensions: Diameter at top: 18.1 × 10.8 cm (7 1/8 × 4 1/4 in.) Diameter at base: 9.93 cm (3 15/16 in.)

Classification: Ceramics-Vessels

Credit Line: Yale University Art Gallery, Gift of Dicey Taylor, Ph.D. 1983, and Justin Kerr

The surreal creatures that populate these vessels—a man decapitating himself; a jaguar set on fire while standing on his front legs—pertain to the realm of dreams and spirits that manifest while sleeping. Indeed, captions on each vessel identify the characters as way (dreams) belonging to lords of specific cities. These images relate to acts of sorcery—powerful people could harness them to inflict sickness and damage on their enemies.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/854913