# Vessel Depicting a Sacrificial Ceremony for a Royal Accession

- By: Maya (Mexico or Guatemala)
- Date: 750–800, probably 753
- Medium: Ceramic and pigment
- Classification: Ceramics
- Dimensions: H.: 19.7 cm (7 3/4 in.)
- Culture: Mexico
- Credit line: Ada Turnbull Hertle Fund
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/31577)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/web/01162f2145d2ea3f9730e4247bb8547a.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

This vessel, used to consume a chocolate drink, depicts a key event in a royal Maya accession ceremony, which shows the relationship between human sacrifice and the assumption of power. The expectant king is flanked by servants, musicians, and masked nobles, while a terrified captive—bound to a scaffold—awaits his death. It is probable that the victim was a warrior from a rival community defeated by the prospective king during a coronation war. Such sacrifices were required as proof of a new ruler’s military abilities, provided an offering to his patron gods, and served as a sign of the triumphant reign to follow.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0