This small stone figure with a large face and a bold facial expression stares into the space, as if it is radiating mysterious power the figure's large facial features such...
This small stone figure with a large face and a bold facial expression stares into the space, as if it is radiating mysterious power the figure's large facial features such as the eyes and the mouth are carved deeply into the stone. Without arms, the vertical body seems compressed, which seems to symbolize a certain mysterious power that is compacted into this dense stone figure. The figure is very much frontal, for only the front of the sculpture has been worked with details such as the indication of the headdress. Such frontal, symmetrical form suggests the Mayan emphasis on ritual and ceremonial uses of such figures. The small scale of the stone figure further supports its function as a votive or a ritual offering, which possessed talismanic power one can hold, this votive figure in one hand. Holding the mysterious, ancient votive amulet in one's hand generates a feeling that such figure indeed holds a meaningful, mystical power the power of such stone figure travels through time and its timeless quality still affects and interacts with the viewers today.