Jar, Ritual Scenes
The Classic Maya depicted many scenes of ritual imbibing of alcohol through enemas, and on this jar, several such scenes unfold around an upper and lower register. In paired-figure scenes, three around the neck and four around the body of the jar, a woman is shown taking care of a child, preparing a mixture in an enema bladder or gourd, and helping a male administer an enema to himself. The characters are painted in red, orange, and black, on a light orange background. The outflaring rim of the vessel is painted red, and the two registers are divided with three bands of geometric motifs.
The woman wears different long dresses in each scene with red-and-black geometric patterns, a white headband, and body paint on her face and arms. Her long hair hangs to her waist as she performs her tasks. The male accompanying her wears body paint, a headdress, and large ear spools. He seems to be learning the process of enema taking. In these rare scenes of ritual instruction, the characters are gesturing to each other, as if questions and explanations are being exchanged. The sequence of events seems to be that the male arrives to the woman wearing an enema bladder strapped to his lower back. She then prepares the enema for the man to take, either while she is holding it or he is holding it himself.
The jar is self-referential. Throughout the scenes appear jars of the same shape with the black dots near the rim indicating a foamy alcoholic beverage. Large jars of this form are known to have been used for fermented beverages, such as pulque, made from the sap of maguey (Agave Americana). The scenes and the jar may be related to a ritual of intoxication. The male in one lower scene bows his head and holds his hand to his mouth, as if he were not feeling well.
The woman could also be portrayed as a healer, someone with ethnobotanical knowledge sought after for remedies. Such a person may have played a widespread role within the Maya royal courts by providing enemas or other medicinal treatments. In fact, the "enema woman" is also crafted into a three-dimensional figure of a kneeling female holding a large vessel in the Princeton University Art Museum (2005-64 a-b). The jar she holds is globular with a cylindrical neck, similar to the Metropolitan’s jar.
James Doyle, 2016
Further Reading
Tokovinine, Alexandre. " 'It is his image with Pulque': Drinks, Gifts, and Political Networking in Classic Maya Texts and Images." Ancient Mesoamerica 27(1): 13–29, 2016.
The woman wears different long dresses in each scene with red-and-black geometric patterns, a white headband, and body paint on her face and arms. Her long hair hangs to her waist as she performs her tasks. The male accompanying her wears body paint, a headdress, and large ear spools. He seems to be learning the process of enema taking. In these rare scenes of ritual instruction, the characters are gesturing to each other, as if questions and explanations are being exchanged. The sequence of events seems to be that the male arrives to the woman wearing an enema bladder strapped to his lower back. She then prepares the enema for the man to take, either while she is holding it or he is holding it himself.
The jar is self-referential. Throughout the scenes appear jars of the same shape with the black dots near the rim indicating a foamy alcoholic beverage. Large jars of this form are known to have been used for fermented beverages, such as pulque, made from the sap of maguey (Agave Americana). The scenes and the jar may be related to a ritual of intoxication. The male in one lower scene bows his head and holds his hand to his mouth, as if he were not feeling well.
The woman could also be portrayed as a healer, someone with ethnobotanical knowledge sought after for remedies. Such a person may have played a widespread role within the Maya royal courts by providing enemas or other medicinal treatments. In fact, the "enema woman" is also crafted into a three-dimensional figure of a kneeling female holding a large vessel in the Princeton University Art Museum (2005-64 a-b). The jar she holds is globular with a cylindrical neck, similar to the Metropolitan’s jar.
James Doyle, 2016
Further Reading
Tokovinine, Alexandre. " 'It is his image with Pulque': Drinks, Gifts, and Political Networking in Classic Maya Texts and Images." Ancient Mesoamerica 27(1): 13–29, 2016.
Artwork Details
- Title: Jar, Ritual Scenes
- Date: 8th–9th century
- Geography: Guatemala, Mesoamerica
- Culture: Maya
- Medium: Ceramic, slip, pigment
- Dimensions: H. 11 1/2 in. x Diam. 12 in. (29.2 x 30.5 cm)
- Classification: Ceramics-Containers
- Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Diker, 1993
- Object Number: 1993.441
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Metropolitan Painter
600–800 CE
Maya artist(s)
700–800 CE
Maya artist(s)
600-800 CE
Chamá artist(s)
600–900 CE
Teotihuacan or Maya artist(s)
550–650 CE
Related Content
Timeline of Art History
Entries from The Met's art encyclopedia.
Publications
Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.
Free to download
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.