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Source Description
Maya artwork from the Early Classic Period (about AD 250-600) is dominated by three-dimensional sculpture in jade, stone, wood, and especially ceramic. This vessel is an exceptionally elegant example of Maya blackware, produced by firing earthenware pottery in a reducing (low oxygen) atmosphere. The deer is frequently depicted in Maya art, usually as a victim of either hunting or sacrifice. Venus signs and conch shells engraved on the deer also suggest death, for the planet Venus was regarded as a bringer of ill-fortune, and conch shell trumpets were carried by hunters. The small frog or toad pressed firmly under the deer's hoof relates to agricultural fertility. The croaking of these amphibians was a harbinger of rain.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
160092
label
Deer Effigy Vessel
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
160092
contentType
object
title
Deer Effigy Vessel
description
Maya artwork from the Early Classic Period (about AD 250-600) is dominated by three-dimensional sculpture in jade, stone, wood, and especially ceramic. This vessel is an exceptionally elegant example of Maya blackware, produced by firing earthenware pottery in a reducing (low oxygen) atmosphere. The deer is frequently depicted in Maya art, usually as a victim of either hunting or sacrifice. Venus signs and conch shells engraved on the deer also suggest death, for the planet Venus was regarded as a bringer of ill-fortune, and conch shell trumpets were carried by hunters. The small frog or toad pressed firmly under the deer's hoof relates to agricultural fertility. The croaking of these amphibians was a harbinger of rain.
date
250–600 CE
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60745933
genreSpecific
Ceramic
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 22.8 x 24.7 x 18 cm (9 x 9 3/4 x 7 1/16 in.)
cul
Mesoamerica, Maya style, Classic Period (250-900)
accession
1997.6
Source extras
tec
earthenware
tombstone
Deer Effigy Vessel, 250–600 CE. Mesoamerica, Maya style, Classic Period (250-900). Earthenware; overall: 22.8 x 24.7 x 18 cm (9 x 9 3/4 x 7 1/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 1997.60
collection
AA - Mesoamerica
citations
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, “Museum Acquires Major Chuck Close Painting, 19th-century Fire Screen, Rare Prints & Drawings,” June 9, 1997, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives.
citation
Young- Sanchez, Margaret, <em>Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em>. Vol. 37 no. 09, November 1997
page_number
Mentioned & reproduced: cover, 4-5
creditline
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:18:39.758000
sourceId
160092
dept
Art of the Americas
coll
AA - Mesoamerica
med
earthenware
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
a64e84fa273c2a42