Ceremonial Handle (?) 7th–9th century Maya This is a fragment representing the handle of a Classic Maya (ca. AD 250-900) scepter. Scepters are some of the most important objects shown in royal portraits and found in royal burials. Analysis of the stone classified it as the hard mineral omphacitic jadeitite (composed of the elements silicon, aluminum, calcium, iron, and magnesium). The sculptor subtly created a fleshiness out of the jade by slightly bowing out the vertical lines that connotes a constriction by the horizontal bands lined with a ridge. The scepter terminates in the head of a serp

Ceremonial Handle (?) 7th–9th century Maya This is a fragment representing the handle of a Classic Maya (ca. AD 250-900) scepter. Scepters are some of the most important objects shown in royal portraits and found in royal burials. Analysis of the stone classified it as the hard mineral omphacitic jadeitite (composed of the elements silicon, aluminum, calcium, iron, and magnesium). The sculptor subtly created a fleshiness out of the jade by slightly bowing out the vertical lines that connotes a constriction by the horizontal bands lined with a ridge. The scepter terminates in the head of a serpent with round eyeballs, an open mouth with fangs, an upturned snout, and distinct eyebrows. Tiny biconical drill holes along the serpent’s bottom jaw would have allowed for beads or other danglers to be attached and perhaps make a lot of sound as the ruler employed the scepter in motion. The fragment probably represents the lower portion of an image of K’awiil, the god of lightning. Classic period artists portrayed the K’awiil scepter not as a stone object, but as an animate participant in the rituals depicted. The small-scale god flails about, sits in a solemn pose with crossed arms, gestures to the viewer of the scepter, or even holds other objects himself. The most recognizable feature of K’awiil is his prominent, tall forehead, decorated with a pill shaped cartouche pierced by either a jade celt, a torch, or a tobacco cigar, from which emerges plumes of smoke. He has a human-like body and a zoomorphic head that consists of an upturned snout, large eyes with a spiral pupil, and one or both of his legs often morph into a serpent. The meaning of the serpent-leg is not immediately clear, although all across ancient Mesoamerica, lightning was associated with snakes. Very few sculptures of K’awiil in the round have survived; they were probably made out of wood or other perishable materials. That makes this possible K’awiil foot rare and important for understanding

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