Maya Lintel with a Woman in a Moon Cartouche in the Metropolitan Museum, December 2022

Title: Lintel with woman in a moon cartouche

Date: 8th–9th century

Geography: Guatemala or Mexico, Usumacinta River region

Culture: Maya

Medium: Limestone, pigment

Dimensions: H. 27 1/2 x W. 34 5/16 in., 120 lb. (69.85 x 87.00 cm, 54.4 kg)

Classification: Stone-Architectural

Credit Line: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Purchased with funds provided by the Shinji Shumekai Ancient Art Fund and Joan Palevsky

Accession Number: SL.2.2022.11.1


Clad in a long blouse and wearing abundant jewelry, this royal woman is seated inside a lunar crescent, the characteristic way of depicting the Moon Goddess. Her headdress features a Water-lily Serpent, a mythical being closely associated with lunar deities, while the hieroglyphic inscription tells us that she is impersonating the serpentine deity. The portrait was likely carved after her death, and may have been paired with one that represented her late husband as a new sun. Several stelae from the Usumacinta River region show deceased parents, likened to the sun and the moon, overseeing their successors’ performance of dynastic rituals.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/820274