This piece is carved in stone, it represents a head; the deterioration of the piece does not allow to clearly differentiate if the face is male or female. What we can infer from the size of the head is that it must have been part of a full-body sculpture, like those that covered many of the exterior walls of Mayan buildings.
The face follows the standardized canons of Mayan art of the Late Classic period, specifically the 7th and 8th centuries, featuring traits which can be seen in the oval shape of the face; the half-open mouth and the thick lips; the almond-shaped and slant eyes, more bulky due to the oblique tabular cephalic modeling, which lengthens and retracts the forehead, marking a profile similar to that of the corn god.
In addition, to produce a greater elongation effect, a vertical adornment was placed from the glabella to the forehead that lengthened the nose, pronouncing and exaggerating its size. This was an artifact widely used by the kings of Palenque during the Late Classic. By making the profile of the figure stand out, it was possible to emphasize its most distinctive features such as the long, aquiline nose, sometimes wide and large, extending into the profile of the modeled forehead.
Cephalic modeling was also an aesthetic contribution widely used by the artists of the Classic period, and although not all skulls were modeled, the Palenque archaeological records indicate that a very high percentage of the population modeled the head in this exaggerated manner; therefore, the head in question could come from the region of the kingdom of Palenque or from the city itself.
Despite the wear of the piece, we can guess that the figure has a haircut that is stepped on the sides of the face, which was typical of these centuries and especially in the regions of Palenque, Usumacinta and Peten. It was a generalized design worn by both men and women, which is why it is more difficult to know if this face is male or female. Such naturalistic canons designed by the Mayan artists are not good allies in differentiating between male and female faces, since the expressions and ages are always timeless.
The headdress worn by the character is incomplete, it seems to be formed by circular ornaments in the front and maybe finished off in the back by bundles of feathers. The ears and possible ornaments that were worn in them are lost.
This piece is carved in stone, it represents a head; the deterioration of the piece does not allow to clearly differentiate if the face is male or female. What we can infer from the size of the head is that it must have been part of a full-body sculpture, like those that covered many of the exterior walls of Mayan buildings.
