Culture: Maya
Date: ca. 600–900 CE (Classic Period)
Medium: Ceramic with polychrome slip decoration
Dimensions: 7 7/8" x 4 3/8"
Region: Guatemala

An authentic and finely painted Maya bowl from the Classic Period (ca. 600–900 CE),This tall, straight-walled vessel was used not for drinking a frothy cacao beverage, but for serving or consuming a cacao-based gruel, a thick ritual preparation combining cacao with maize or other ingredients.

The exterior features polychrome decoration in red, black, and cream pigments over an orange slip. A central decorative band presents glyph-like symbols, a red scroll pattern encircles the lower body of the vessel. A wide red rim band completes the composition.

Dimensions: 7 7/8" x 4 3/8"
Condition: Professionally reassembled from original fragments with visible crack lines; minor rim losses and wear consistent with age and burial.
Provenance: Ex, David Fincher, TX, Ex, Bob Awe Texas, collected prior to 1970.

A culturally rich vessel that illustrates the diversity of cacao use in Maya society—not only as a drink but as a ritual food. A rare piece for collectors of Mesoamerican epigraphy and ritual ceramics.