Carved Vessel

c. 600–1000

Carved Vessel, c. 600–1000. Mexico, Campeche, Maya, Chocholá Style. Earthenware; overall: 12.1 x 16.3 cm (4 3/4 x 6 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. James C. Gruener 1990.173 A firefly is carved on both sides of this Maya vessel, which is from the Yucatán Peninsula. Among the most common of insects to appear in Maya art, the firefly seems to be associated with things that twinkle in the dark—stars and cigars, the latter a symbol that identifies creatures of the night. The text on the rim mentions a young man, suggesting this vessel was involved in a rite-of-passage ceremony.