In this full Classic monument the representation of the
human figure is subordinated to detail of dress and ornament.
The feet are at a hundred and eighty degree angle; the body what
can be seen of it-is full face; the head is in profile.
A preoccupation with ornamental design, rather than with
the essential outlines of the human figure, is characteristic of the
Ornate Phase (ca. A.D. 700-750) and is well exemplified by this
sculpture. The standing figure embellished with his
accountrements, stands out clearly as a self-contained unit, and
the pose is essentially static. Attention is given each elaborate
detail of dress. The viewerÕs eye is not directed toward items
which an artist might have wished to emphasize as of greater
symbolic or decorative importance. In this respect, the Ornate
Phase tended to differ from the ensuing Dynamic Phase (ca. A.
D. 700-750) throughout most of the Southern Maya Lowlands.
Nevertheless, certain monuments dating from the Ornate Phase,
especially at Palenque, achieved a freedom of composition by
separating symbolic decoration from the human body, thereby
enabling the artist to show both to advantage.
