Maya
Pipe with dog ornament
Maya, 250-900
Physical Qualities
Earthenware, 2 3/8 × 5 7/8 × 1 1/8 in. (6 × 15 × 2.9 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Howard B. Marshall, New York
Object Number
1984.414
Ceramic tube with wide opening at one end that tapers to a narrow opening at the other. The head of a dog with bared teeth is situated atop the wide end. Its four legs/feet form a support for the pipe (one foot missing). A tail is indicated on the exterior surface of the upper portion of the pipe.
The piece likely functioned as a tobacco pipe. Maya lords were fond of smoking cigars (e.g., God L) some of which were held in ceramic pipes. This pipe may have had an elbow inserted into the wide end.