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HOME :
Pre-Columbian Art :
Mayan Bowls, Plates and Vessels : Mayan Polychrome Plate with a Spiral Pattern
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Mayan Polychrome Plate with a Spiral Pattern - PF.5752
Origin: El Salvador
Circa: 300
AD
to 900
AD
Dimensions:
3.25" (8.3cm) high
x 12.25" (31.1cm) wide
Collection: Pre-Columbian
Medium: Terracotta
£3,600.00
Location: Great Britain
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| Description |
What appears to our eyes to be a simple plate,
was instead infused with a much greater
purpose. Our modern minds have become
rational and scientific, thus certain aspects of
earlier, “primitive” cultures might seem bizarre
and baffling, or even blasphemous. Throughout
the ages there have been countless descriptions
of the meaning of life and the workings of the
world. Each reality is the truth to those who live
according to its rules and laws. Thus, in order to
fully comprehend the potent energy of Pre-
Columbian art, it is necessary to abandon our
daily reality, to forget our lives, and to travel
back within ourselves to another world we left
behind long ago. Gazing upon this plate is
entering a lost realm of the spiritual, a part of
our lives that remains as mysterious today as it
ever was. Not science, not philosophy, not
reason nor logic can answer the most haunting
questions we ask ourselves alone at night.
However, to the Mayans, this plate was an
answer. Originally, this polychrome piece of
pottery would have been placed above the skull
of the deceased. The hole in the center was an
access route for the encapsulated spirit to rise
out of and travel towards the heavens. The
central portion of the work is covered in a
decorative spiral pattern. This same pattern can
be seen throughout the art of the Americas as a
symbol for the sun and its radiant warmth. This
plate seems to be so simple to us, we seem to
think we understand it, and yet the word we use,
“plate,” describes little except for the form. The
true meaning of this plate, like the meaning of
life, is beyond our comprehension.
- (PF.5752)
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