Teotihuacan style. <em>Incensario Lid</em>, 400–700 C.E. Ceramic, pigment, 18 1/8 x 19 1/2 x 9 1/4in. (46 x 49.5 x 23.5cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Danziger, 75.148. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 75.148_bw.jpg)

Teotihuacan style. Incensario Lid, 400–700 C.E. Ceramic, pigment, 18 1/8 x 19 1/2 x 9 1/4in. (46 x 49.5 x 23.5cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Danziger, 75.148. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 75.148_bw.jpg)

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This is interesting!

This incensario lid comes from the Pacific coast of Guatemala but shows the style of the city of Teotihuacan in the Valley of Mexico, hundreds of miles away. At the time, Teotihuacan was a major cultural magnet and its style can be found throughout Mesoamerica!

There's a chimney hidden behind the figure, which ties into its use as a incense burner. I just love the jewelry the figure is wearing, especially the nose piece! It's actually removable.

How could it be used in the ancient times?

This is the lid to an incense burner from Guatemala. We don't have the bowl portion, where the incense would have been burned, but if you look at the back, you'll be able to see part of the chimney.

Incense burners were used in a religious context for deity, household, and funerary rituals. It is thought that these anthropomorphic incense burners from Guatemala may have functioned as effigies of the dead.

I just love how elaborate it is. The human face, possibly shown wearing a mask, is really beautiful.

Yeah! Is he a famous person from that region?

We don't really know who he is. In one hand he holds a knife, while in the other he holds a bundle of spears, which leads us to identify him as a warrior.

Tell me more!

This sculptural Incensario Lid is representative of the art of Teotihuacan, but it was found hundreds of miles away suggesting trade and cultural exchange! Though this lid is highly adorned it would have sat on a relatively plain base.

What do the circles represent?

The circles near the figure's face are ear spools, a type of adornment worn in large piercings.

The circles above the face are simply listed as part of the headdress.

Incensario Lid

Arts of the Americas

This elaborate lid from a ceremonial incensario (incense burner) depicts the head and torso of a warrior wearing a large headdress, nose plaque, and earplugs. He holds a bundle of spear ends in his right hand and a knife in his left. Three spear-end bundles also adorn the headdress.

In 500 C.E. Teotihuacan, in central Mexico, was one of the largest cities in the world, with an estimated population of 150,000. Teotihuacan’s culture, religion, and art spread throughout Mexico and Central America. This lid, found more than seven hundred miles away, represents a local version of the Teotihuacan prototype.

CULTURE Teotihuacan style

MEDIUM Ceramic, pigment

Place Found: Tiquisate Region, Department of Escuintla, Guatemala

DATES 400–700 C.E.

PERIOD Classical Period

DIMENSIONS 18 1/8 x 19 1/2 x 9 1/4in. (46 x 49.5 x 23.5cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Arts of the Americas

ACCESSION NUMBER 75.148

CREDIT LINE Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Danziger

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Elaborate incensario or incense burner lid in the form of a male bust wearing a spectacular headdress with three discs, two feathered quetzal eyes and three bundles of spear ends. The figure wears large circular ear spools and a removable trapezoidal talud-tablero style nose ornament. He carries a blade-like object in the left hand and a bundle of spear ends in the right, suggesting a warrior figure. White, buff, yellow, ochre and red paint are still visible throughout the piece.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Teotihuacan style. Incensario Lid, 400–700 C.E. Ceramic, pigment, 18 1/8 x 19 1/2 x 9 1/4in. (46 x 49.5 x 23.5cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Danziger, 75.148. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 75.148_bw.jpg)

IMAGE detail, 75.148_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

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