A Maya Whistling Rattle, Jaina, Late Classic, ca. A.D. 550-950

in the shape of a halved gourd, modeled with the aged god Itzamna standing firmly and holding the feisty rabbit – his offspring with the Moon Goddess, the old god wearing a necklace with Venus symbol shell pendant and a long loincloth under the sagging belly, all against a striated ground, tiny pellets within.

Acquired in the 1970s

In Maya mythology, one of the principal female deities is the voluptuous Moon Goddess, who couples with the aged Itzamna producing a rabbit. See Miller and Martin (2004: pl. 59) for this Jaina couple, and (ibid: 97, fig. 34) for the goddess with her infant rabbit as shown on a polychrome vessel.