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Source Description
A firefly is carved on both sides of this Maya vessel, which is from the Yucatán Peninsula. Among the most common of insects to appear in Maya art, the firefly seems to be associated with things that twinkle in the dark—stars and cigars, the latter a symbol that identifies creatures of the night.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
155446
label
Carved Vessel
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
155446
contentType
object
title
Carved Vessel
description
A firefly is carved on both sides of this Maya vessel, which is from the Yucatán Peninsula. Among the most common of insects to appear in Maya art, the firefly seems to be associated with things that twinkle in the dark—stars and cigars, the latter a symbol that identifies creatures of the night.
date
c. 600–1000
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79943522
genreSpecific
Ceramic
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 12.1 x 16.3 cm (4 3/4 x 6 7/16 in.)
cul
Mexico, Campeche, Maya, Chocholá Style
accession
1990.173
Source extras
tec
earthenware
tombstone
Carved Vessel, c. 600–1000. Mexico, Campeche, Maya, Chocholá Style. Earthenware; overall: 12.1 x 16.3 cm (4 3/4 x 6 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener, 1990.173
collection
AA - Mesoamerica
didYouKnow
The text on the rim mentions a young man, suggesting this vessel was involved in a rite-of-passage ceremony.
citations
citation
Young-Sánchez, Margaret. "The Gruener Collection of Pre-Columbian Art." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 79, no. 7 (1992): 234-75.
page_number
Referenced: cat. no. 83, p. 272, Reproduced: fig. 83, p. 256
citation
Maurer, Evan M., and Molly Hennen. <em>Symboles sacrés: quatre mille ans d'art des Amériques. </em>Paris: Réunion des musées nationaux, 2002.
page_number
p. 110, Cat. No. 83
creditline
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:02:33.903000
sourceId
155446
dept
Art of the Americas
coll
AA - Mesoamerica
med
earthenware
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
c79f496744f1633b