Long Maya Bone Comb w/ Sacrificial Human Skull

Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Maya, ca. 550 to 950 CE. Hand-carved from human or deer bone, a ceremonial comb of a long trapezoidal form with eleven teeth at the lower end and a mesmerizing bas relief composition depicting two lords and two sacrificial human skulls. The lord above sits in profile facing left (his right) with a skull before him in his grasp. He wears an elaborate headdress and earspool, and the features of his noble visage are finely delineated. Below him and on the left side of the comb is another human skull. Below this is another lord with his head dramatically turned 90 degrees, donning a plumed headdress with additional bird feathers in the vicinity. Scarlet red cinnabar was rubbed into the recesses of the carved imagery making for a wonderful contrast and adding even more beauty to the piece. Size: 5.25" H (13.3 cm); 6.125" H (15.6 cm) on included custom stand.

Trophy heads were a near-universal constant in Mesoamerican imagery for millennia. By the Classic Maya period, scholars believe that the taking of actual trophy heads, for the most part, had been replaced by the ball from the ballgame (as in the Popol Vuh, where a decapitated head was originally used instead of a rubber ball).

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-Ian Arundel collection, California, USA, the Old Curiosity Cabinet, Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, California, USA, collected 1950-1970

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#144341
Condition Report: Repaired from multiple pieces with slight restoration over the break lines, but very well done and difficult to see. Normal age wear. Nice deposits grace the surface. Liberal remains of red cinnabar embellish the carving. Imagery is quite vivid.