Item Size:  16" x 20.5"     Type:  Wall Plaque

Material:  Casting Stone, with Antique Stone Finish

Original:  From Temple of the Sun, Palenque, Mexico, 692 C.E.

Current Location of Original:  Temple of the Sun, Palenque, Mexico

The Temple of the Sun is one of the three temples in Palenque known as the Group of the Cross, built by king Chan-Bahlum to commemorate and celebrate his accession rites to the throne after the death of his father, King Pacal. The tablet shows King Pacal on the left side, dressed in burial apparel and holding a full-bodied eccentric flint, and a shield made of a flayed human face, a symbol of war. Pacal still holds the insignia of royal power; the passing of authority will occur at the end of ten days of accession rites. Chan-Bahlum is shown on the other side, holding an offering mannequin of the Maya god "K". At the center of the tablet, we see a Sun Jaguar shield and crossed spears supported aloft by an underworld throne with bleeding jaguar heads emerging from one axis, and bleeding snakes from the other, representing decapitation sacrifice. The throne rests on the shoulders of Maya god "L" and another aged god from the Maya Underworld. Both are bent over like captives. This is in representation of the defeat, according to Maya belief, of the Lords of Death at the beginning of time by the Hero Twins, who became the source of life, through magical rebirth, after becoming captive sacrificial victims.