Sculpture

Maya artist

6th-9th century

Ceramic

Minneapolis Institute of Art

This is a terracotta figurine of a person with hands clasped in front. The figure wears a headdress, earrings, and a patterned garment. Both men and women wore wraparound hipcloths or skirts. These garments were woven in long pieces, stitched together as they came off the loom, and wrapped and draped in elaborate folds around the body. Excess material hung from the waist, as seen here, or was dramatically flung over the shoulder. Women covered their torsos in similar lengths of wraparound fabric or wore long, geometrically-patterned tunics similar to contemporary Mayan <I>huipiles</I>, examples of which are on view in this gallery. Headdresses were also part of a woman's ceremonial attire and were extremely diverse, ranging from simple headbands to tall, feathered o