Yax Ahk as a Captive in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, December 2022

Title: Yax Ahk’ as captive impersonating jaguar deity

Date: ca. 700

Geography: Mexico, Chiapas, Tonina

Culture: Maya

Medium: Sandstone

Dimensions: H. 22 7/16 × W. 18 1/8 × D. 4 5/16 in., 176.4 lb. (57 × 46 × 11 cm, 80 kg)

Classification: Stone-Sculpture

Credit Line: Museo de Sitio de Toniná, Mexico, Secretaría de Cultura–Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia

Accession Number: SL.2.2022.20.2


Identified by the hieroglyphic inscription on his leg, Yax Ahk’, the lord of a place called Anaayte’, along the Usumacinta River on the modern border between Guatemala and Mexico, is shown as a captive impersonating the jaguar god. The flaming jaguar ear and the twisted cord between his eyes are attributes of the deity, a warrior who was himself captured and tortured by fire in primordial war myths.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/820331