Vessel with a Procession of Warriors

This vessel depicts a parade of warriors after a battle. The naked figure is a captive who is being led by an elaborately dressed warrior for sacrificial display. The leader of the party may be the figure wearing a full jaguar pelt and wielding a bloody weapon. The person in front of the captive wears a costume of cloth and paper strips studded with bloodied medallions; he has a spiny bloodletter in his headdress and may be responsible for carrying out the bloodletting rituals. The fourth person wears a feathered cape and the petal cap characteristic of secondary figures.

Illustrative vessels such as this fine example hint at the richness of Maya mural painting, most of which was painted on perishable materials and no longer survives.