Double-Chambered Vessel 5th century Maya A master Maya potter modeled a vignette with three characters onto the body and lids of this ritual drinking cup. The main form of the vessel is composed of two identical cylindrical chambers, connected by a central hollow bridge, each of which rests on two squarish slab feet. This style of ceramic, recognizable by a very fine reddish or gray paste fired with a reddish-black clay slip is known from the area of what is now northern Guatemala and Southern Campeche, Mexico. Artists who specialized in this blackware style in the 5th-6th centuries achieved great feats in gouged and incised designs, often on very thin walls or lids. Such a fine vessel would have been used on very special feasting occasion, perhaps later buried in the tomb of its owner by his or her descendants. In this scene, a large supernatural bird known as the Principal Bird Deity (PBD) perches on one lid (which is actually a false lid, fused with the chamber), and faces a kneelin