Scepter with profile figures
7th–8th century
Medium
Flint
Dimensions
H. 13 5/8 x W. 7 1/2 x D. 5/8 in. (34.6 x 19.1 x 1.6 cm)
Classification
Stone-Sculpture
Culture
Maya
Department
Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Purchase, Nelson A. Rockefeller Gift, 1967
Accession Number
1978.412.195
Art Historical Context
This remarkable scepter, crafted by Maya artists in the 7th–8th century, exemplifies the sophisticated stone-working traditions of Classic Maya culture. Fashioned from flint, a material prized for its sharpness and symbolic resonance, the object measures just over thirteen inches tall and features delicately chipped profile figures along its form. Such scepters likely served as ceremonial regalia, held by rulers or high-ranking individuals during rituals that connected earthly power with the divine realm. In Maya society of the Late Classic period, flint objects known as “eccentrics” were not...