Mayan lintel

myminifactory

This is one of three lintels from Structure 23 at Yaxchilan, this scene depicts Lord Shield Jaguar and his principal wife Lady Xoc engaged in a bloodletting rite that took place in AD 709.The king stands on the left brandishing a flaming torch to illumiinate the drama that is about to unfold. Kneeling in front of him wearing an exquisitely woven huipil, Lady Xoc pulls a thorn-lined rope through her tongue. The rope falls onto a woven basket holding blood-soaked strips of paper cloth.