Maya Lidded Vessel with a Howler Monkey in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 2022

Title: Lidded vessel with howler monkey

Date: 4th century

Geography: Guatemala

Culture: Maya

Medium: Ceramic

Dimensions: H. 7 7/8 × Diam. 9 1/2 in. (20 × 24.2 cm)

Classification: Ceramics-Vessels

Credit Line: Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, Guatemala City, Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes de Guatemala

This vessel depicts a howler monkey wearing a beaded collar. The creature’s arms, with long-fingered paws, are incised on either side of the lid; folded legs, marked with signs for "darkness," appear on the vessel walls. The quatrefoil medallion on the front of the vessel—the monkey’s chest—contains an image of the Maize God in an acrobatic posture.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/820309