01 Photograph Gallery

02 Object Information

Description

Theater-Type Incensario – Teotihuacan Style
Polychrome ceramic | Pacific Coast of Guatemala (Tiquisate and La Gomera, Escuintla)

Incense burner crafted in clay and richly decorated with iconography characteristic of the Teotihuacan style.

The lid features a central face representing a figure with red-painted skin and yellow hair, adorned with a butterfly-shaped nose ornament, circular earspools, and an elaborate headdress that includes the face of a butterfly flanked by floral appliqués in white, pink, and yellow.

The figure holds side panels in both hands, each decorated with the “3 mountains” glyph, possibly referencing a sacred geography or ritual narrative. The cylindrical base, not shown here, features a frontal talud-tablero design and side flanges painted in yellow, reinforcing the stylistic connection to Teotihuacan’s monumental art.

Originating from the Pacific coastal region of Guatemala, this piece highlights Teotihuacan’s influence in areas far from the central Mexican highlands and its integration into local ritual contexts.

*Piece voluntarily donated by Mr. Hector Santamarina Herrera

 

Period

CLASSIC (150/200 A.D.-900 A.D.) Early Classic (150/200- 650 AD).

Provenance

Pacific Coast of Guatemala

Medium / Material

Clay

Technique

Appliqué / application, Grooving, Incised, Modeled, Molded, Painting

Dimensions

Total height (base and lid): 86 cm

Base “a”
Height: 54 cm; Diameter: 34 cm;
Width: 50 cm

Lid “b”
Height: 32 cm; Diameter: 33.5 cm

03 References and Exhibitions

References to similar objects

Similar objects have been found on the Pacific Coast of Guatemala, especially in the area of ​​Tiquisate and La Gomera, Escuintla, dating for the Early Classic
period, especially from 350 – 550 A.D. (Reents-Budet; Headrick and Bishop, 2017)

 

Bove, Frederick J. 2000. Teotihuacan y la Costa del Pacífico de Guatemala: La ideología de estructura política. En XIII Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 1999 (editado por J.P. Laporte, H. Escobedo, B. Arroyo y A.C. de Suasnávar), pp.117-131. Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, Guatemala (versión digital).

Reents-Budet, Dorie; Annabeth Headrick and Ronald Bishop. 2017. “Entangled Ideologies on the Pacific Coast: the Teotihuacan-style Maya censers from the Department of Escuintla, Guatemala”. Presented at The 81st Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology, Vancouver, British Columbia. 2017 ( tDAR id: 431290)

Exhibitions

Piece exhibited in the lobby of the Hyatt Centric Guatemala Hotel since October 24, 2022

Publications