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Identifier: TP.2022.J.16
title: Figurine of a Little Person
Type: figurines
name: Unknown
producer: modelers
has culture: Maya (culture or style)
date created: ca. 600–800 CE
has style period: Late Classic
location of: Isla Jaina; Yucatan; Campeche; México
has technique: molding (forming); sculpting
material: earthenware See all items with this value; Maya blue (pigment) See all items with this value; red pigment See all items with this value; white pigment See all items with this value
area: 5.2 x 2.8 x 2 in (13.2 x 7.1 x 5.2 cm)
description: "These figures’ stout bodies, together with the distinctive facial features of several, indicate a naturalistic and sensitive rendition of achondroplasia, a genetic mutation that is among the most common causes of dwarfism. Dwarfs frequently appear in ancient Maya art, as they were common and important members of royal courts. Some scholars have suggested that their especially close relationship to Maya kings had mythological roots. Kings considered themselves akin to the beautiful maize god, whose long, slender head mimicked that of the single well-formed ear of corn a plant typically produces; other ears on the plant tend to be smaller and not fully developed. By analogy, people with achondroplasia were thought to be “of the same stalk” as royalty."

—Princeton University Art Museum
Subject: ceramic ware (visual works) See all items with this value; Nobility See all items with this value; Dwarfism See all items with this value
Rights: See all items with this value
Access Rights: Gift of Gillett G. Griffin, Princeton University Art Museum
Source: https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/objects/5585

Item sets: Mayan Figures

Media: TP-2022-J-16

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