COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
CMA_.1989.65
AMICA Library Year:
2000
Object Type:
Sculpture
Creator Name:
Unknown
Creator Nationality:
North American; Central American; Guatemalan
Creator Name-CRT:
Guatemala, Escuintla Region (?)
Title:
Mirror Back
Title Type:
Primary
View:
Full View
Creation Date:
c. 500
Creation Start Date:
495
Creation End Date:
505
Materials and Techniques:
slate with traces of pigment
Style or Period:
Guatemala, Escuintla Region (?)
Dimensions:
Diameter: 20.1cm
AMICA Contributor:
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Owner Location:
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
ID Number:
1989.65
Credit Line:
James Albert and Mary Gardiner Ford Memorial Fund
Context:
This carved stone disk once served as the backing for a mirror of polished pyrite mosaic. Such mirrors were used as costume elements at Teotihuacan and other sites, and may also have been used in divination. The imagery carved on this example relates closely to the Incense-burner Cover displayed nearby. A religious ceremony (perhaps a funeral) is depicted here, with a masked and ornamented bundle in the center approached by two celebrants carrying staffs and an incense bag. Scrolls emanating from the mouth of each figure indicate chanting or song.
Related Image Identifier Link:
CMA_.1989.65.tif
