Chocolate Pot c. 750

This chocolate pot was made by the Maya, using clay that would have been sourced locally. You can see that the potter has mixed in some material - maybe sand or ground shell - to give the clay body strength. The vessel would have been built up by hand, either from coils or perhaps by pinching directly from a lump of clay. The form is pleasingly rounded, with an elegant pouring lip. And, look closely at the carved decoration. It’s a complex, stylized image, perhaps a royal emblem. It tells us that this pot was not an everyday item. Chocolate was a luxury, and would have been consumed by the elite. The labor required to produce this pot – from digging the clay to carving the image – gives us a direct connection to the world of the Maya. Understanding how the artwork was created brings us closer to the people and the culture that it represents, bridging the gap between fine art and functional craft.