Description:

Polychrome stucco sculpture representing a male character, probably a dancer or a warrior, wearing a jaguar skin mask. The mask, with parts of the nose, lips and feline fangs, covers the face of the human character, revealing the features of the mouth with thick lips slightly open showing his teeth.

The character is in a stalking position, like a feline would. Studies on traditional dances in various cultures suggest that most dances are inspired by the movement of animals and plants, so this character could be imitating the movements of the jaguar while dancing. He also wears a skirt painted yellow and black, resembling the patterns of the jaguar skin, a garment limited to the rulers, nobles and members of the military elite.

His ornamentation include bracelets (which could represent paper, cloth or leather rolled and knotted); a necklace with plaques tied with a bow behind his neck; a chest ornament with fringes, tubular beads or shells; another necklace with spherical beads or pompoms, and figures of four-petal flowers in the front. A decorative highlight are the anklets with several strands of spherical beads or shells, which could have sounded like bells when dancing.

This is perhaps the only example, to date, of a three-dimensional figure with these characteristics and with its original color preserved.

Iconography:

The masked jaguar figure represented a mythological feline and could be a high-ranking nobleman disguised as a feline deity, or one of the feline figures from the pantheon of deities of the Classic period.

Given its predatory and nocturnal behavior, the jaguar was usually associated with royal power, strength and sacrifice and, as such, it is represented according to its different aspects. A jaguar-deity later known as Yax Bahlam, one of the mythical Hero Twins, was associated with the night sun in the west, a specific aspect of the moon, transformation, sacrifice, hunting and war, as well as the prototype of spiritual power and royalty.

Characters wearing jaguar masks, or wearing full jaguar outfits, frequently appear in monuments, ceramic pictorial art, ancient wooden lintels, in architecture and other media. Bahlam (jaguar) is therefore the most common term used in the personal names of rulers.

They frequently represent warriors, who could be represented either in war action or dancing, in scenes of sacrifice or in the ball game. In addition to a jaguar mask and its stalking position, the figure wears a skirt painted in yellow and black, resembling jaguar skin, so it could represent a ruler or high-ranking noble, such as an artist or member of the elite military.

Provenance:

This sculpture was transferred to La Ruta Maya Foundation in August 2013, almost 20 years after its discovery and registration in the 1990’s.

According to the documentation delivered to the Foundation, the sculpture was found by chance during the drilling of a water well on a cattle farm, southwest of Lake Petén Itzá, towards La Libertad (Petén, Guatemala). It was registered in the Cultural Property Register (IDAEH, 1996), restored and consolidated before its delivery to the Foundation for custody, conservation, research and exhibition to the public for educational purposes.

* Interpretive video: https://youtu.be/bB55T2fxdwc

Total Length: 276 cm;
Width (hand-to-hand): 105 cm;
Width (elbow-to-elbow): 90 cm;
Height of head: 66 cm;
Height (hip): 47 cm
Length (head to waist): 110 cm
Length (waist to foot): 166 cm
Weight: 2,200 lb

– “The Jaguar of Chicruz“, a zoomorphic stucco sculpture located at the foot of the steps of a pyramid-temple. Exhibited at the National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology of Guatemala, MUNAE (No. 22529) from Chicruz, Baja Verapaz. Postclassic (1100-1524). Height: 79 cm, Length: 166 cm, Width: 135 cm.

(Burgos, Walter. 2009. “Mayan Treasures: The Pre-Columbian Societies of the Chixoy River Basin”)

– Winged characters from the archaeological site of Ek Balam, México (although they belong to a later period, as to compare).

– There is a sculpture in the Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA 1948.355) that shows a basalt stone figure, reclining in a similar way, but with a human body and feline head. It is identified as from the Gulf Coast, dated 300-600 AD. (4th to 7th centuries) and measures 16.8 x 17.7 cm. Remains of paint.

“TREASURES OF THE MAYAN SPIRIT.” LA Art & Antique Show. LA Convention Center, California (January 4–9, 2014)

“TREASURES OF LA RUTA MAYA.” Quiroa Gallery, Paseo de los Museos, Hotel Casa Santo Domingo. Antigua Guatemala (August 30–November 9, 2014)

“TREASURES OF THE MAYAN SPIRIT THROUGH TIME.” ARTECENTRO Graciela Andrade de Paiz, Historic District, Guatemala City (May 21 – October 19, 2015)

“MAYA: RULERS OF THE RAINFOREST”
Drents Museum, Assen, Netherlands (February 28 – September 4, 2016)
Historisches Museum der Pfalz, Speyer, Germany (October 2, 2016 – April 23, 2018)
Archaeological Museum of Alicante, MARQ, Spain (May 25, 2017 – January 7, 2018)

“MAYAS IN SANTO DOMINGO DEL CERRO” Santo Domingo del Cerro Cultural Center, Antigua Guatemala (August 16, 2018–April 20, 2019)

“MAYA: THE GREAT JAGUAR RISES” (1st Tour) Canada and United States (May 15, 2019–October 20, 2021)

“WITH THE FACE OF A JAGUAR.” Auditorium Lobby, Rafael Landívar University, Guatemala City (February 28–July 7, 2022)

“MAYA: THE GREAT JAGUAR RISES” (2nd Tour) Kansas City Union Station (August 2022–March 2023) and California Science Center (April–September 2023).

On display in La Ruta Maya Foundation’s permanent gallery starting May 2026

* Conference video about the sculpture, its discovery and symbolism, during International Museum Day 2022 (in Spanish only): https://youtu.be/bk21UDSCK80?si=c0Dte9GsFIfzihXk

* “En Nombre de un Pasado Glorioso” por Sergio Burstein. www.hoylosangeles.com.  Enero 16, 2014 (pág. 10).

* “Stalking Heritage Away from Home” por Edward Rothstein.  THE NEW YORK TIMES, Arts section. January 18, 2014.

* “Los Mayas y su Arte Salen de Nuestras Fronteras” por Patricia Palacios. Diario de Centro América. Enero 21, 2014 (pág. 16).

* “Tesoros del Espíritu Maya llega a Los Ángeles”” por Ana Lucía Mendizábal. SIGLO 21.

* “Expresiones artísticas que sorprenden y regocijan” por Edwin Castro. Prensa Libre, enero 2014.

* Revista D de Prensa Libre (portada y artículo). Febrero 2, 2014. No. 497. Págs. 18-21.

* “Treasures of The Maya Spirit” en IMS Explorer. Institute of Maya Studies. Julio 16, 2014. Página 2.

* “Lo Destacado de www.prensalibre.com, OJO DEL LECTOR”. 29 octubre, 2014.

* “Tesoros de Arte Maya” por Edwin Castro. Edición Dominical de PRENSA LIBRE. 31 de mayo, 2015 (pág. 14).

* “Patrimonio Histórico: Danzante Ritual o Guerrero al Acecho” por Edwin Castro (infografía). PRENSA LIBRE, Sección CULTURA. 2 de agosto, 2015 (pág. 14).

“Hombre jaguar”: la escultura milenaria maya vuelve a exhibición en Guatemala después de tres años. Ingrid Reyes. Escenario Prensa Libre. 19 de mayo de 2026

https://www.prensalibre.com/vida/escenario/hombre-jaguar-la-escultura-milenaria-maya-vuelve-a-exhibicion-en-guatemala-despues-de-tres-anos/ 

“El rugido del jaguar ha despertado: Sobrevivió al tráfico ilícito, viajó por el extranjero y hoy esta obra del estuco maya conquista la ciudad”. Marisol Vásquez y Mario León. ARTES de DIARIO DE CENTROAMÉRICA. 22 de mayo, 2026

https://dca.gob.gt/noticias-guatemala-diario-centro-america/el-rugido-del-jaguar-ha-despertado/