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Head from a Building's Façade

250–900 CE
(250-900)
stucco, paint
Overall: 33.2 x 17.5 x 29.7 cm (13 1/16 x 6 7/8 x 11 11/16 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener 1990.183
Location: not on view
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Did You Know?

Maya elites practiced cranial modification on infants to achieve the sloped profile seen in this tenoned head.

Description

The Maya often lavishly decorated the exteriors of buildings, transforming them into elaborate sculptural works in their own right. This sensitively modeled head, made from fragile stucco, would have been affixed to the façade of a palace or temple via the tenon (projection) at the back of the head. The rest of the body may have been modeled separately.
Head from a Building's Façade

Head from a Building's Façade

250–900 CE

Mexico, Campeche, Maya style (250-900)

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