ceramic sun

"Kinich Ahau, the lord with a solar face, is the Maya god of sun and music. He is married to Ixchel (the moon) and he is regarded as the god of gods and lord of war. He settled disputes and distributed land amongst the different villages," says Angel Cerón of this ceramic mask replica. "Kinich Ahau is usually portrayed with jaguar ears and T-shaped teeth. His beard symbolizes sunrays and big, almost square-shaped eyes." Cerón is oficially licensed to reproduce this extraordinary replica of the mask found in Palenque (Chiapas) and dated 600-900 AD.

Wearing an ornate headdress with quetzal plumes, a Maya priest speaks, his words represented by speech glyphs. An oceotl or jaguar crowns the man, also speaking. The fierce spotted cat was thought to have sacred powers and, in the language of the Chol Maya, the name balam means both "jaguar" and "priest." The feline was believed to be the cause of both the lunar and solar eclipse, which resulted when the jaguar bit into the moon or the sun.

Artisans from the Angel Cerón Artisan Association work in yellow clay from Oaxaca, colored with mineral tints.

Artisans from the Angel Cerón Artisan Association create an original mask that blends elements of both Maya and Aztec art and culture. The face depicts the Sun Jaguar of the underworld seen in an incense burner from the Classic Maya site of Palenque. The mouth makes reference to Chac, the Maya rain god. Covered with skulls, the headdress is an interpretation of the Aztec tzompantli, a rack where the heads of sacrificial victims were displayed as an offering to the gods.