For sheer pageantry the Maya are virtually unsurpassed. Their spectacles, performed outdoors with the great stepped pyramids as a backdrop, were dazzling displays of music, dance and some of the most elaborate ritual costumes ever created. The major ceremonies were the accession of a king and bloodletting, both of which would have involved the royal family, great lords, notables and the entire population as awed spectators. Such important rituals, which were crucial to Maya religious life and political stability, demanded the king appear in full regalia. One of the most important items was the celt, which hung in single or double rows from the royal belt. They served as emblems of power, imbued with kingly authority through the images engraved upon them. In this fabulous celt we see what is most likely a king wearing a monumental headdress. He stares straight ahead with a serene expression. The frontal pose allows us to see the long nose plug, ear spools and thick necklace he wears. The headdress is highly ornate, composed of cloth and brilliantly colored feathers, rising like a tower of interweaving patterns, culminating in a zoomorphic mask or supernatural being. It is possible this king is involved in a bloodletting letting ceremony, which would explain why his lovely hands are held palm upwards in a gesture of homage and meditation. In this context the headdress may represent visions of other worlds and the deities the king hoped to witness on his vision quest. By depicting this sacred event on beautiful jade, the object itself gains power, as did the king who participated in the ritual, and as do we who have the privilege of holding it!