Effigy censer with the young corn god standing on a turtle and two figures of the god of rain, Chaahk, in bas-relief, flanking him. Its origin is unknown, although it could come from the north of the Yucatan Peninsula, since censers with similar characteristics have been found there. The central figure is a young character modeled in high relief which follows the stylistic canons of central Mexico in the Post-classic period. Thus, the censer is unpainted, hollow and some of its parts are probably made with a mold.
The face of the character also has features and expressions from central Mexico such as the head, which is more rounded than the Aztec heads, as well as a half-open mouth, reminiscent of the Mexica portraits from Xipe Totec, although we think that in this case it would emulate the Mayan corn god. This idea is upheld by noting certain elements that in the general iconography of the piece that are invariably associated with the narrative sequences of the corn god, such as the turtle with the face of the old god or god N and the rain gods, which in this case flank the young character.
There are several classical representations of the god of corn sprouting or arising from the shell of a turtle; it symbolized the earth and in many representations you can see the gods of rain flanking him, while brandishing their axes because, as the myth goes, it was the god of rain which opened the shell of the turtle to rescue the imprisoned corn inside it; a beautiful metaphor of the important role that the rain has in the annual cycle of corn. On the other hand, we must add that among the beings that inhabit the interior of the earth there is an old god who, in the classical representations, showed his head emerging from the shell of the turtle, as happens here.
The youthful appearance that the god of corn always portrays is also important because this in itself symbolizes the first corn. The young character modeled in the censer shows spiky hair pointing upwards but being broken and this part of the figure being lost we can only suggest that the spiky hair design would emulate the beards of corn. The face of the god is depicted as serene with his eyes closed and his mouth slightly open. It is possible that the earlobes, which are currently empty, were adorned with jadeite earrings; the character is missing its right arm. He has a quechquemilt or capelet covering his chest and shoulder with designs of crosses and decorated in the center with a conch shell. Marine and aquatic elements are common in classical depictions of the god because in one of the episodes of the myth, the god of corn fights and kills a shark.
During the Classic Period, in association with this episode and the marine environment in which it develops, the god is usually represented with a sectioned conch shell adorning the central part of his belt. In this censer it is possible that the allusion to this marine episode is in the symbolism of the shells that adorn the belt. The figure of the god in high relief is set on the center of the shell of the tortoise, as if rising out of it. In Chichen Itza there is an architectural structure that reproduces the shell of a turtle opened down the middle. Scholars of this city believe that it served to dramatize the mythological episode of the birth of the corn god.
On the sides, and designed in bas-relief, there are two symmetrical standing gods of rain flanking him with spears and protecting the god of corn. The god of rain, Chaahk, is easily recognizable by the flaming eyebrow, hair gathered in the front; the long, prominent nose, and the profile mouth design that used to have a quadrangular shape. Chaahk, during the Classic Period carried, as his main attribute, an ax with which he often opened the hills. It is common to find representations of the god also with spears during the Post-Classic, as shown here. In addition, the artist of this censer designed a sky of clouds formed by small scrolls that surround and frame the scene. Therefore, what the artist intended with this design modeled in clay was to recreate one of the most important mythical ages of the god of corn: the moment when the young corn god emerges from the earth, symbolized by the turtle.
Effigy censer with the young corn god standing on a turtle and two figures of the god of rain, Chaahk, in bas-relief, flanking him. Its origin is unknown, although it could come from the north of the Yucatan Peninsula, since censers with similar characteristics have been found there. The central figure is a young character modeled in high relief which follows the stylistic canons of central Mexico in the Post-classic period. Thus, the censer is unpainted, hollow and some of its parts are probably made with a mold.
