North Carolina Museum of Art

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HIGHLIGHTS

Ancient Americas Collection

Mesoamerica

Guatemala, Tiquisate region

Incense Burner, about 300-600
Ceramic with traces of white, yellow, and black paint, 23 x 17 1/2 x 9 1/8 in. (58.4 x 44.5 x 23.2 cm)
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Francis Robicsek, 98.7
This lidded incense burner probably was placed on an altar or on the steps leading into a shrine. It held burning coals and copal incense (an aromatic tree resin), the smoke rising through the chimney at the back. The sculpture represents a deity or priest inside a Maya temple. He wears an elaborate headdress that includes rosettes inlaid with shiny mica stone to symbolize the entrance to the realm of the gods. This style of incense burner was developed by the Teotihuacan culture of highland Mexico, the most powerful social, economic, political, and perhaps religious force in Mesoamerica during the fifth century A.D. The Maya of Guatemala were influenced by Teotihuacan, creating buildings, sculptures, and ceramic vessels in Teotihuacan style. Guatemala was renowned for its excellent cacao (chocolate), which probably attracted the people of Teotihuacan to this region.