Dieseldorff Collection: Ceramic Corpus of the Terminal Classic Originating from Molds

Preliminary Considerations

The fact that more pieces exist, that were made with the same mold used for the elaboration of the "thrones" in the Dieseldorff collection, could be verified through a visit made to the private collection of the Museo Príncipe Maya in Cobán, Alta Verapaz, (Figure 33, Figure 34, Figure 35 and Figure 36).

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Through personal communication with Gladis Gabriel de DeUlofeu, owner of the Museo Príncipe Maya, we found that the pieces associated with "Throne A" come from an excavation undertaken in a mound in the area of San Pedro Carchá, Alta Verapaz. She added that they were found in fragments and that due to the quantity of sherds that were found, they thought it was a midden. Upon inspection of the lot they selected 3 pieces of each type, because, as she assured us, the rest were the same. She also made reference to the molds that she has (Figure 37 and Figure 38), which in their majority come from excavations associated with the north area of Alta Verapaz, from sites such as Chisec. The peculiar characteristic of these pieces is that the are made with a very clear, orange-colored clay, which has the quality of being very resistant due to its hardness.

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The information obtained from Mrs. DeUlofeu coincides with Dieseldorff regarding the manner in which the pieces were arranged. In the conclusion of the article "Religion and Art of the Mayas" (1929), Dieseldorff explains the following: "…In Chajcar I found a series of twelve or more clay idols put in the middle of a pyramid in a vault which had collapsed, and was apparent due to a depression on the surface. …Each one of these idols was placed on a clay box which had a mouthpiece in the back, and by blowing on it different sounds could be produced because the idol was hollow or had holes in it. The four sides of the seat of all the idols had the same drawings…" (Figure 41, Figure 42, Figure 43, Figure 44, Figure 45 and Figure 46).

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Click on images to enlarge.

In general the thrones are grouped into five categories: 1) of enthronement (Figure 13), 2) of warriors (Figure 47), 3) speech or gift (Figure 48), 4) Acrobat Corn God (Figure 14), and 5) miscellaneous (Figure 49).

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