---
title: Maya Tripod Bowl
author: Metropolitan Museum of Art
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/8620/maya-tripod-bowl/
format: machine-readable-alternate
updated: 1970-01-01
---
# Maya Tripod Bowl
_Authored by Metropolitan Museum of Art_
## Image File
[](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/8620.jpg)
## Image Caption
3-4th century CE, Guatemala, Mesoamerica. Metropolitan Museum of Art A favored vessel type of the [Maya](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Maya/) lowlands was one made in the shape of a tropical bird, perhaps a cormorant, in the act of catching a fish in its beak. The bird's forehead is marked with a disk, probably depicting a mirror. Details of the bird are rendered on the lid, where its head forms the knob and its wings spread out onto the expanse of the lid. The fish is rendered three-dimensionally, carefully held in the wide bird beak. The bowl beneath the lid forms the body of the bird. In monochrome versions of the theme, as seen here, details are incised; in polychrome examples, they are multicolored. The symbolic meaning of the theme is not clear, even though it remains constant on the lids of a number of different bird-bowl types, from those without feet to four-footed examples. As these bowls have been found in some burials, the theme may relate to [death](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Death/) and/or the afterlife, or, more simply, to the presumed contents of the vessel.
## Cite This Work
### APA
Art, M. M. o. (2018, April 16). Maya Tripod Bowl. *World History Encyclopedia*.
### Chicago
Art, Metropolitan Museum of. "Maya Tripod Bowl." *World History Encyclopedia*, April 16, 2018. .
### MLA
Art, Metropolitan Museum of. "Maya Tripod Bowl." *World History Encyclopedia*, 16 Apr 2018, .
## License & Copyright
© [Metropolitan Museum of Art](http://metmuseum.org/), NY. As part of the [Met's Open Access policy](https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/policies-and-documents/open-access), the Metropolitan Museum of Art has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this dataset. [Original image](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/314827) by [**Metropolitan Museum of Art**](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/314827). Submitted by [Ibolya Horváth](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/horvath.ibolya/ "User Page: Ibolya Horváth"), published on 16 April 2018. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Copyright](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright). You cannot use, copy, distribute, or modify this item without explicit permission from the author. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.