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Source Description
This elaborate clay construction served as the cover and chimney of a basin used to burn copal incense. Although probably manufactured in what is now Guatemala, the form and fabrication are based on examples from Teotihuacan in central Mexico, hundreds of miles away. Intensive trade between the two regions, or even a Teotihuacan colony in Guatemala seems likely. The masked, dressed, and ornamented moundlike form probably represents a mortuary bundle or a cult image.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
144610
label
Incense-burner Cover
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
144610
contentType
object
title
Incense-burner Cover
description
This elaborate clay construction served as the cover and chimney of a basin used to burn copal incense. Although probably manufactured in what is now Guatemala, the form and fabrication are based on examples from Teotihuacan in central Mexico, hundreds of miles away. Intensive trade between the two regions, or even a Teotihuacan colony in Guatemala seems likely. The masked, dressed, and ornamented moundlike form probably represents a mortuary bundle or a cult image.
date
c. 500
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79922023
genreSpecific
Ceramic
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 44.8 x 43 x 31.5 cm (17 5/8 x 16 15/16 x 12 3/8 in.)
cul
Guatemala, Escuintla Region, early 6th Century
accession
1969.25
Source extras
tec
earthenware with slip and pigments
tombstone
Incense-burner Cover, c. 500. Guatemala, Escuintla Region, early 6th Century. Earthenware with slip and pigments; overall: 44.8 x 43 x 31.5 cm (17 5/8 x 16 15/16 x 12 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund, 1969.25
collection
AA - Mesoamerica
citations
citation
Young-Sanchez, Margaret. "Veneration of the Dead: Religious Ritual on a Pre-Columbian Mirror-Back".<em> The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 77, no. 9 (November, 1990)
page_number
333
creditline
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:25:49.262000
sourceId
144610
dept
Art of the Americas
coll
AA - Mesoamerica
med
earthenware with slip and pigments
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
bd5f1f53eb511c8c