Skip Navigation

Collection Menu
Maya. <em>Whistle in the Form of a Male Figure Wearing a Jaguar Mask</em>, 500–850. Ceramic, pigment, 8 x 3 1/2 x 2 in. (20.3 x 8.9 x 5.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller, 2009.2.14. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2009.2.14_overall_PS11.jpg)
Maya. Whistle in the Form of a Male Figure Wearing a Jaguar Mask, 500–850. Ceramic, pigment, 8 x 3 1/2 x 2 in. (20.3 x 8.9 x 5.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller, 2009.2.14. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2009.2.14_overall_PS11.jpg)
Maya. <em>Whistle in the Form of a Male Figure Wearing a Jaguar Mask</em>, 500–850. Ceramic, pigment, 8 x 3 1/2 x 2 in. (20.3 x 8.9 x 5.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller, 2009.2.14. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2009.2.14_overall_PS11.jpg)

Maya. Whistle in the Form of a Male Figure Wearing a Jaguar Mask, 500–850. Ceramic, pigment, 8 x 3 1/2 x 2 in. (20.3 x 8.9 x 5.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller, 2009.2.14. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2009.2.14_overall_PS11.jpg)

Maya. <em>Whistle in the Form of a Male Figure Wearing a Jaguar Mask</em>, 500–850. Ceramic, pigment, 8 x 3 1/2 x 2 in. (20.3 x 8.9 x 5.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller, 2009.2.14. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2009.2.14_threequarter_left_PS11.jpg)

Maya. Whistle in the Form of a Male Figure Wearing a Jaguar Mask, 500–850. Ceramic, pigment, 8 x 3 1/2 x 2 in. (20.3 x 8.9 x 5.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller, 2009.2.14. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2009.2.14_threequarter_left_PS11.jpg)

Maya. <em>Whistle in the Form of a Male Figure Wearing a Jaguar Mask</em>, 500–850. Ceramic, pigment, 8 x 3 1/2 x 2 in. (20.3 x 8.9 x 5.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller, 2009.2.14. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.2009.2.14_view01.jpg)

Maya. Whistle in the Form of a Male Figure Wearing a Jaguar Mask, 500–850. Ceramic, pigment, 8 x 3 1/2 x 2 in. (20.3 x 8.9 x 5.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller, 2009.2.14. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.2009.2.14_view01.jpg)

Maya. <em>Whistle in the Form of a Male Figure Wearing a Jaguar Mask</em>, 500–850. Ceramic, pigment, 8 x 3 1/2 x 2 in. (20.3 x 8.9 x 5.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller, 2009.2.14. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2009.2.14_threequarter_right_PS11.jpg)

Maya. Whistle in the Form of a Male Figure Wearing a Jaguar Mask, 500–850. Ceramic, pigment, 8 x 3 1/2 x 2 in. (20.3 x 8.9 x 5.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller, 2009.2.14. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2009.2.14_threequarter_right_PS11.jpg)

Maya. <em>Whistle in the Form of a Male Figure Wearing a Jaguar Mask</em>, 500–850. Ceramic, pigment, 8 x 3 1/2 x 2 in. (20.3 x 8.9 x 5.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller, 2009.2.14. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.2009.2.14_side.jpg)

Maya. Whistle in the Form of a Male Figure Wearing a Jaguar Mask, 500–850. Ceramic, pigment, 8 x 3 1/2 x 2 in. (20.3 x 8.9 x 5.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller, 2009.2.14. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.2009.2.14_side.jpg)

Maya. <em>Whistle in the Form of a Male Figure Wearing a Jaguar Mask</em>, 500–850. Ceramic, pigment, 8 x 3 1/2 x 2 in. (20.3 x 8.9 x 5.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller, 2009.2.14. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2009.2.14_back_PS11.jpg)

Maya. Whistle in the Form of a Male Figure Wearing a Jaguar Mask, 500–850. Ceramic, pigment, 8 x 3 1/2 x 2 in. (20.3 x 8.9 x 5.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller, 2009.2.14. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2009.2.14_back_PS11.jpg)

DOWNLOAD

Whistle in the Form of a Male Figure Wearing a Jaguar Mask

Arts of the Americas

Solid and hollow Maya ceramic figurines like these representing men wearing elaborate animal headdresses and masks are common funerary items, found primarily on Jaina Island in Mexico. High social status is indicated by the elaborate regalia and ornaments. The nobleman in the center wears a removable serpent-head headdress decorated with precious quetzal feathers, possibly associating him with the Feathered Serpent deity Kukulcán. The whistle on the left depicts a man wearing a jaguar mask and sacrificial scarf emblematic of the God of the Underworld. The rattle on the right represents a man wearing a bird mask and holding two rattles. His large, feathered back ornament is an attribute of the turkey or vulture. Turkeys (associated with fertility) and vultures (associated with sacrifice) were used as ceremonial offerings.


Figurillas maya sólidas y huecas como éstas, representando hombres que visten elaborados tocados animales y máscaras, son objetos funerarios comunes, encontrados principalmente en la Isla Jaina en México. La alta posición social se indica por los ropajes elaborados y la ornamentación. El hombre al centro lleva un tocado removible de cabeza de serpiente decorado con preciosas plumas de quetzal, asociándolo posiblemente a la deidad Kukulcán, la Serpiente Emplumada. El silbato a la izquierda muestra un hombre llevando una máscara de jaguar y un pañuelo ceremonial emblemático del Dios del Inframundo. La maraca a la derecha representa a un hombre llevando una máscara de pájaro, y sosteniendo dos maracas. El gran ornamento de plumas que lleva a su espalda es un atributo del pavo o zopilote. Pavos (asociados con fertilidad) y zopilotes (asociados con sacrificio) eran utilizados como ofrendas ceremoniales.

This text refers to these objects: 2009.2.14; 37.2785PA; 2009.2.19a-b
CULTURE Maya
MEDIUM Ceramic, pigment
DATES 500–850
DIMENSIONS 8 x 3 1/2 x 2 in. (20.3 x 8.9 x 5.1 cm)  (show scale)
COLLECTIONS Arts of the Americas
ACCESSION NUMBER 2009.2.14
CREDIT LINE Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller
PROVENANCE Prior to 1965, provenance not yet documented; by 1965, acquired by Guy Puerto of Mérida, Mexico; June 1965, purchased from Guy Puerto by Frederic Zeller of Sag Harbor, NY; 1994, gift of Frederic Zeller to Susan Kennedy Zeller of Sag Harbor, NY, by inheritance; 2009, gift of Susan Kennedy Zeller to the Brooklyn Museum.
Provenance FAQ
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION Maya. Whistle in the Form of a Male Figure Wearing a Jaguar Mask, 500–850. Ceramic, pigment, 8 x 3 1/2 x 2 in. (20.3 x 8.9 x 5.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller, 2009.2.14. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2009.2.14_overall_PS11.jpg)
IMAGE overall, 2009.2.14_overall_PS11.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2022
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
Maya. <em>Whistle in the Form of a Male Figure Wearing a Jaguar Mask</em>, 500–850. Ceramic, pigment, 8 x 3 1/2 x 2 in. (20.3 x 8.9 x 5.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift in memory of Frederic Zeller, 2009.2.14. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2009.2.14_overall_PS11.jpg)

RELATED OBJECTS

Water Jar Pitcher with Black on White Geometric Design Pitcher with Black on White Geometric Designs Bowl Incensario Lid Standing Figure Bowl Bowl Bowl Bowl (or fragment?) Cats Cradle - Sawing Wood Stirrup Spout Vessel Whistle in the Form of a Bird Bird-Shaped Whistle Trophy Head Human Figure Wearing Crocodile Mask Pendant with Anthropomorphic Jaguar Figure Pendant in Form Anthropomorphic Avian Figure Pendant in Form of Anthropomorphic Animal Figure Bowl Conch Shell Trumpet Conch Shell Trumpet Mold to Make Clay Figures Bowl Small Bowl Fox Runner Effigy Vessel Temple Model with Deity Temple Model with Deity Temple Model with Ehecatl Temple Model with Deity Tripod Plate Small Standing Figurine Maya Figurine Maya Figurine Eccentric Flint with Human Faces Bowl Eccentric Flint Eccentric Flint Hollow Figurine Hollow Figurine Rattle of a Man Wearing a Bird Mask Cylindrical Hollow Figurine Whistle in Form of Turtle Figurine Rattle of Priestess or Woman Impersonating a Deity Tripod Bowl Necklace