Lintel 24 is the designation given by modern archaeologists to an ancient Maya limestone sculpture from

Yaxchilan Yaxchilan () is an ancient Maya city located on the bank of the Usumacinta River in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. In the Late Classic Period Yaxchilan was one of the most powerful Maya states along the course of the Usumacinta River, with Piedr ...

, in modern Chiapas,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The lintel dates to about 723–726 AD, placing it within the Maya Late Classic period. Its mid-relief carving depicts the ruler of Yaxchilan, Itzamnaaj Bahlam III, and his consort Lady K’abal Xoc, performing a ceremony of

bloodletting Bloodletting (or blood-letting) is the withdrawal of blood from a patient to prevent or cure illness and disease. Bloodletting, whether by a physician or by leeches, was based on an ancient system of medicine in which blood and other bodily flu ...

; the imagery is also accompanied by descriptive captions, and (unusually for a Maya monumental text) a

signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a ...

by the sculptor, Mo’ Chaak.

Discovery and removal

Lintel 24 was found in its original context alongside Lintels 25 and 26 in Structure 23 of Yaxchilan.

Alfred Maudslay Alfred Percival Maudslay FRAI (18 March 1850 – 22 January 1931) was a British diplomat, explorer, and archaeologist. He was one of the first Europeans to study Maya ruins. He also fully translated and annotated the best version of Bernal ...

had the lintel cut from the ceiling of a side entrance in 1882 and shipped to Great Britain where it remains today in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It documen ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

. Lintel 25 made the journey in 1883. Lintel 26 was discovered in 1897 by

Teobert Maler Teobert Maler, later Teoberto (12 January 1842 – 22 November 1917) was an explorer who devoted his energies to documenting the ruins of the Maya civilization. Biography Teobert Maler was born in Rome to German parents. His father was a dipl ...

. It was removed to the Museo Nacional de Antropología e Historia in 1964. Structure 23 has since collapsed.

Inscriptions

The text comprises three discrete sections. The uppermost describes Itzamnaaj Bahlam, where the second raised section describes Lady Xoc. The final sentence, which is not elevated like the other two, is an artist’s signature.

A1-F3

ti-5-EB 15-ma-AK-u-ba-hi ti-CH’AB-li ti-K’AK’-la-ju-lu u-CH’AB-4-WINIKHAB-AJAW ITZ’-BALAM-ma-u-cha-CHAN-nu a-NIK-ki K’UHUL- A’HAN-AJAW
''ti ho (?) holaju’n mak u baah ti ch’abil ti k’ak’al jul u ch’ab chan winikhaab ajaw Itz’ mnaajBahlam u cha’n Aj Nik k’uhul Pa’chan ajaw''
"On 5 b15 Mak, his image at the penance with the flaming spear, his penance, the four-''k’atun'' lord Itzamnaaj Bahlam, captor of Ah Nik and holy lord of Yaxchilan."

G1-G4

u-ba-ti-CH’AB-li IX-CH’AK?-ku-na-XOK-ki IX-k'a ala-XOK-ki IX-KALOM-TE’
''u baah ti ch’abil ix ch’akan xook Ix K’abal Xook ix kalo’mte’''
"Her image at the penance, the cut lady, Ix K’abal Xoc, female autocrat."

H1-H4

T’AB-ya yu-xu-lu MO’-CHAK-ki a-HIX?-la
''t’abiiy yuxul mo’ chaak aj hixiil?''
"His sculpture was erected, Mo’ Chaak, he of Hixil?"

Style

The lintel is done in high relief style with the background deeply recessed. All three were apparently commissioned by Lady Xoc for the doorways of Structure 23. The lintels show the elaborate costumes of the king and queen with remarkable detail and an uncharacteristic lack of abstraction. These lintels are considered by some to be the pinnacle of Mayan art.Miller, p. 18, cites Sylvanus G. Morley, who in his ''Ancient Maya'' (1946) considered this to be "the most beautiful example of sculptured stone door lintel." We are able to study the detail of Mayan weaving as depicted in these carvings, and see the pearls woven into the fabric. Subtle differences in the three lintels suggest that the compositions were completed by two or three different artists. Each of the works is signed, indicating that the production of such works was regarded as a highly specialized skill rather than a trade.

The King

Itzamnaaj Bahlam III was a central figure in directing the course of Yaxchilan. He ascended to power in AD 681 and died in AD 742. There are numerous documented references to him on artifacts at the end of Stage V at Yaxchilan. In Lintel 24, he is depicted holding a torch above his first wife, Lady Xoc. The king is wearing his hair back with

quetzal feathers The resplendent quetzal (''Pharomachrus mocinno'') is a small bird found in southern Mexico and Central America, with two recognized subspecies, ''P. m. mocinno'' and ''P. m. costaricensis''. These animals live in tropical forests, particularly ...

indicating that he will also let blood in this ceremony. Attached to his head band is what appears to be a representation of the Jester Mask. The jester mask is considered analogous to the glyph for kingship, ''ajaw'', and is named so for the vegetation often depicted coming from the crown of it. Since the rest of the costume is depicted without much abstraction, it is suggested that Maya kings may have literally attached a shrunken head to their head band as a representation of power. He is shown wearing a pectoral with a representation of the sun god depicted. It is strung from a jade bead necklace that is counterbalanced by a long strand of jade beads and what are probably carved shells going down his back. The artist was careful to show such minute details as the strings that are tied to hold on the wrist cuffs worn by both royals, and the pattern woven on Itzamnaaj Bahlam’s beautiful cape.

The Queen

Lady Xoc is one of the most prominent and probably politically powerful women in the Maya civilization. Lady Xoc is shown here performing an important royal rite of blood letting. By pulling the rope studded with obsidian shards through her tongue, she causes blood to drip onto paper strips held in a woven basket to be burned as depicted on Lintel 25. Blood scrolls can be seen on her face. The queen also wears an elaborate headdress. There are flower tassels on the main part of the head band and a mosaic depiction of Tlaloc sprouting quetzal feathers. Her elaborately carved

huipil ''Huipil'' (Nahuatl: '' huīpīlli'' ; Ch'orti': ''b’ujk''; Chuj: ''nip'') is the most common traditional garment worn by indigenous women from central Mexico to Central America. It is a loose-fitting tunic, generally made from two or three re ...

is trimmed with fringe and pearls. Her necklace also appears to have a pectoral depiction of the sun god. It is probably made of shell or jade plaques, as are her wrist cuffs.

Associated tombs

Recent excavations have unearthed what is thought to be the tombs of Itzamnaaj Bahlam and Lady Xoc within Structure 23. Discovered in association with the female burial attributed to Lady Xoc were 146 prismatic obsidian blades, each with two lateral notches on the edges. These were located in what is known as Element 21 in Room 1 of Structure 23 at Yaxchilan. Due to the association with Lady Xoc’s burial in Room 2, these have been interpreted as being depicted on Lintel 24. The original interpretation of the studded rope was that there were thorns attached, but this new evidence in context has caused the interpretation to shift. We now know that it was a rope studded with obsidian blades used in the ritual, and may have the very physical shards depicted themselves. Lady Xoc’s burial is known as Tomb 3. Itzamnaaj Bahlam’s remains lay not far, in Room 3. This is referred to as Tomb 2. Elaborate grave goods were found in association with both burials.

Notes

References

* * * * {{British Museum

Lintel 24 Lintel 24 is the designation given by modern archaeologists to an ancient Maya limestone sculpture from Yaxchilan, in modern Chiapas, Mexico. The lintel dates to about 723–726 AD, placing it within the Maya Late Classic period. Its mid-relief ...

Maya inscriptions 8th-century inscriptions Mesoamerican artifacts 8th century in the Maya civilization 725 Ethnographic objects in the British Museum Artefacts from Africa, Oceania and the Americas in the British Museum Sculptures of the British Museum