Zoomorphic seal, rlat, with the image of a bird’s face, probably an owl. It has round eyes, a pointed beak and “small horns” of feathers achieved through grooves and incised lines. A spiked handle on the back.

Height: 5 cm
Maximum width: 5 cm
Maximum length: 3.5 cm

Pre-Columbian stamps and seals

These are portable objects that combine the art of sculpture (through the relief carving of their features) and printed decoration (through their imprint with paint or in relief). In addition to being used directly for printing designs on surfaces and body decoration, seals possessed ideographic symbols through which messages could be communicated.

It is possible that seals were also made with perishable materials (such as wood, bone, and plant fibers), but those that have been preserved to this day in the Maya region are mostly made of baked clay and stone. Their shapes are varied: flat, circular, squared, rectangular, convex and concave, with a spike on the back as a handle or a notch to hold with two fingers. Another category is the cylindrical or tubular seals, fully decorated and with a hole in the center to insert a stick and roll them over a surface. Finally there are those that show the two-dimensional shape of the decorative element (animals, flowers, faces, etc.) with the edge cut.

Stamps were used to paint or print on almost all surfaces, including body decoration worn by both men and women. Likewise, they could have been used in commerce and probably as emblems of social distinction. They have a wide variety of designs and motifs, which include the animal world (zoomorphs), plants and flowers (phytomorphs), parts of the human body (anthropomorphs), imaginaries (abstract symbols) and a great variety of fretworked and geometric shapes. In other cases there are examples with figures of deities. All of these forms had a strong symbolic aspect related to the surrounding nature and their conception of the universe.

1. Financiera de Occidente (October 2010 – April 2011)

2.“THE WORLD OF THE MAYAN ARTIST”. Spanish Cooperation Training Center. Antigua Guatemala (February 3 – June 16, 2013)

3. “THE WORLD OF THE MAYAN ARTIST.” Casa N’oj Cultural Center, Quetzaltenango (August 12- September 6, 2013).

1. Paredes Maury, Sofia. 2011. “Iconographic Designs and Motifs in Pre-Columbian Stamps” in “Pre-Columbian Stamps, Cultural Heritage of Guatemala” a magazine by GALERÍA GUATEMALA. Editorial Galería Guatemala (Year 13, number 39, 2011). G&T Continental Foundation. Guatemala.

2. “Presentation of The World of the Mayan Artist.” El Quetzalteco Newspaper Wednesday, August 14, 2013. Page 11.

3. “Pre-Columbian Culture Shines”.  Prensa Libre newspaper, cultural Sexction.  Tuesday February 5, 2013. Page 46.

4. “A Look at the Mayan Artist.” Prensa Libre Newspaper. Monday February 11, 2013.