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Vessel with Deity Mask
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
This unusual vessel is made of a U-shaped container and a sheet of clay modeled as a deity mask that is startling in its power: pierced eyes glare from the shadow of a muscular brow; the chin juts aggressively; and the part-bird, part-jaguar mouth opens in a shriek. This may be the face of the Olmec rain deity, the inspiration for much Olmec ritual and many accomplished works of art. The vessel may come from a grave or a buried offering.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineVessel with Deity Mask, 1200–900 BCE. Central Mexico (Las Bocas, Puebla?), Olmec, Formative Period. Ceramic, traces of pigment; overall: 18 x 17.1 x 15.9 cm (7 1/16 x 6 3/4 x 6 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 2002.67
