Embracing Couple

700-900; Maya; Terracotta; height 24 cm (9 in.); Founders Society Purchase, Katherine Margaret Kay Bequest Fund, and New Endowment Fund; 77.49

This figurine clearly symbolizes the Mayan belief in the essential balance of dual powers that allows the universe to function. Here an old man, symbolizing a god associated with the sun, daylight, and life, embraces a young woman, representing the moon goddess, night, and death. The piece also functions as a whistle, and it is thought that these whistles were played at funeral ceremonies, as such pieces were buried with the dead to aid in their transition to another level of existence.

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