Stucco Portrait of Maya Noble

by Scan The World

The commanding presence of a Late Classic Maya Noble is established in this stucco portrait, once a piece of temple or palace architectural sculpture. Modeled in stone, it was probably detached from a bust in a "portrait gallery" such as in Palace House at Palenque. At least in some cases, the Maya removed such portrait heads from their "frames" and buried them with the deceased, as was the God complex.