Carved Bowl with Bird Effigy Handles600–1000 CE

Not on view

Carved pale gray stone bowl with wide mouth, hemispherical body, and two coiled spiral handles, decorated with relief bands of overlapping arches and circular motifs

Carved white marble bowl with two opposing serpent-head handles, decorated with bands of carved curvilinear and stepped glyphic motifs around the exterior.

Title: Carved Bowl with Bird Effigy Handles
Culture: Maya
Place Made: Honduras, Ulúa Valley
Date Made: 600–1000 CE
Medium: Marble
Dimensions: 3 × 7 1/4 × 4 1/2 in. (7.62 × 18.42 × 11.43 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Susan Lancaster
Accession Number: AC1996.46.1
Classification: Stone
Collecting Area: Art of the Ancient Americas
Curatorial Notes: The Indigenous peoples of the Ulúa Valley, a unique cultural region on the eastern outskirts of the Maya world in what is now northwestern Honduras, developed a sophisticated tradition of sculpting bowls and drinking cups from solid blocks of creamy white marble. The great skill required to shape this stone, procured from a local quarry in the region, conferred prestige upon the vessels. Those with known archaeological context were recovered from royal tombs and palaces, confirming their status as luxury goods for elite members of society. Curling scrolls, serpentine figures, and geometric bands characterize the style of the white marble vessels of the Ulúa Valley. A repeating pattern of swirls and curls appears on the side of this bowl, including a pair of bird heads depicted in profile in low relief. Two handles on either side of the vessel also depict two bird heads, here in three dimensions.

Alyce de Carteret

2025
Selected Bibliography: Magaloni, Diana, Davide Domenici, and Alyce de Carteret. We Live in Painting: the Nature of Color in Mesoamerican Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2024.

Carved Bowl with Bird Effigy Handles600–1000 CE

Not on view

Title: Carved Bowl with Bird Effigy Handles
Culture: Maya
Place Made: Honduras, Ulúa Valley
Date Made: 600–1000 CE
Medium: Marble
Dimensions: 3 × 7 1/4 × 4 1/2 in. (7.62 × 18.42 × 11.43 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Susan Lancaster
Accession Number: AC1996.46.1
Classification: Stone
Collecting Area: Art of the Ancient Americas
Curatorial Notes: The Indigenous peoples of the Ulúa Valley, a unique cultural region on the eastern outskirts of the Maya world in what is now northwestern Honduras, developed a sophisticated tradition of sculpting bowls and drinking cups from solid blocks of creamy white marble. The great skill required to shape this stone, procured from a local quarry in the region, conferred prestige upon the vessels. Those with known archaeological context were recovered from royal tombs and palaces, confirming their status as luxury goods for elite members of society. Curling scrolls, serpentine figures, and geometric bands characterize the style of the white marble vessels of the Ulúa Valley. A repeating pattern of swirls and curls appears on the side of this bowl, including a pair of bird heads depicted in profile in low relief. Two handles on either side of the vessel also depict two bird heads, here in three dimensions.

Alyce de Carteret

2025
Selected Bibliography: Magaloni, Diana, Davide Domenici, and Alyce de Carteret. We Live in Painting: the Nature of Color in Mesoamerican Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2024.