Hieroglyphic Altar
Maya
650–700
Medium
Limestone
Dimensions
21.6 × 37.5 × 41.9 cm (8 1/2 × 14 3/4 × 16 1/2 in.)
Classification
stone
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
37817
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This altar depicts the head and torso of an individual wearing an ornate headdress and a large, woven mat pectoral emblem of rulership. He appears within a four-lobed cartouche, suggesting that he is a deceased ancestor who lives in the Underworld. The hieroglyphs that surround the figure describe the commemoration of a monument or structure; the text carved around the sides of the monument celebrate a successor’s completion of six years of kingship.