The jaguar was one of the principle gods in the Mayan Pantheon. In this extraordinary ceremonial whistle, a snarling jaguar seated in the manner of an aristocrat holds a human...
The jaguar was one of the principle gods in the Mayan Pantheon. In this extraordinary ceremonial whistle, a snarling jaguar seated in the manner of an aristocrat holds a human head under his arm. Though the myth illustrated here has been forgotten with time, the power of the scene still haunts us. Created at the height of the Mayan Empire, such a whistle would have been blown at festivals honoring the god. As we draw out its melancholy note today, we hear the music of a vanished and mysterious world.