# Hieroglyphic Altar

- By: Maya (Possibly Bonampak/Lacanha area, Mexico or Guatemala)
- Date: 650–700
- Medium: Limestone
- Classification: Sculpture
- Dimensions: 21.6 × 37.5 × 41.9 cm (8 1/2 × 14 3/4 × 16 1/2 in.)
- Culture: Bonampak
- Credit line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Baker
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/37817)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/471f2d10-c1e8-f0f7-2bca-ecadc8caf784/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

This altar depicts the head and torso of an individual wearing an ornate headdress and a large, woven mat pectoral emblem of rulership. He appears within a four-lobed cartouche, suggesting that he is a deceased ancestor who lives in the Underworld. The hieroglyphs that surround the figure describe the commemoration of a monument or structure; the text carved around the sides of the monument celebrate a successor’s completion of six years of kingship.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0