This extremely large Mayan Bat Effigy/Pendant was found in Central America and comes with a Roy Motley COA. (This remarkable artifact is for sale. Please message me for the price if you are truly interested in buying it.)

The Maya believed caves were passageways which led to the underworld, or Xibalba ("place of fright"), and bats living in these caves were creatures of this realm. Camazotz (literally translated as "bat of death), was an anthropomorphic Maya god shaped like a bat who the Mayans believed guarded the entrances to this underworld.

Sinkholes in the limestone topography in which the Maya lived were often filled with crystal clear water. The Maya name for these sinkholes was cenotes, or "sacred wells." The Maya believed them to be direct portals into the underworld and places where offering could be made to appease the underworld gods.

The black stain found on many Mayan artifact offerings was made from mixing indigo dye with clay and heating the mixture with bitumin or copal, a plant resin. This heated mixture was then used to stain the ceremonial offerings black so they more closely approximated the darkness and death of the underworld. These were then thrown into the waters of sacred sinkholes as offerings to the gods of that realm.

This particular bat effigy is an extremely large example of such an offering to Camazotz, probably from someone of importance like a high priest or king, to buy an easy passage for their soul into the underworld and was never meant to be worn as a pendant. Instead, the hole in its center is likely a representation of the soul's eventual journey through the underworld (represented by the bat wings) into the paradise of heaven.


I do plan on selling this remarkable piece. Please message me for price if truly interested in purchasing it



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