Description

Ulua polychrome vessels are ceramics that were created during the Classic and Early Postclassic periods (250-1000 CE) in the Ulua River Valley. These vessels are the careful work of craftspeople who lived in towns and villages nestled throughout the lush, tropical valley. In many households, older artists shared their knowledge of clay sourcing, working, firing, and decorating with new generations. Most Ulua Polychromes are bowls, dishes, or jars that were used to serve food and drink. Although craftspeople borrowed some motifs from the Maya culture to the north, Ulua pottery was a local development that worked to form a shared identity and cosmology across the valley. The vessels served multiple purposes in the social, political, and economic spheres of the Ulua Valley: they were used as gifts, for rituals, during feasts after ball court games, and in household meals.

This beautifully painted cup features a repeating motif of two figures wearing dramatic headdresses. Figures like these were commonly depicted from 550-650 CE and have been described in many ways: some believe that they are mythical beings, dancers, or embracing figures. Their headdresses may have been made from animal skins, with this motif potentially representing puma skins. Since pumas, bats, monkeys, and other animals are commonly anthropomorphized in in local origin stories today, one possibility is that the figures on this vessel are used to tell a story about how a community came into being. This vessel was likely used to hold beverages made from cacao, maize, or other local ingredients during ritually charged celebrations.