The piercing gaze of the solar deity K’inich Ajaw simulates the strong, midday sun in the tropics. The name means “Sun-Eyed/Resplendant Lord”, and he is one of the most important deified beings for many cultures in Mesoamerica. The Maya associated K’inich Ajaw with fire, jaguars, and rulership-- rulers’ names even included the honorific k’inich. At death, rulers could apotheosize into this supernatural solar entity.

K’inich Ajaw is distinguished by large, crossed eyes, furrowed brow, T-shaped incisors, and a blunt snout. As is fitting for a powerful force, he is adorned with a precious jadeite tubular nose ornament and earflare topped by a jaguar ear emblem. Jadeite adornments were the exclusive jewelry of Maya deities, especially the maize god, and of rulers as their earthly embodiment. K’inich Ajaw’s unique coiffure of cropped hair mimics sun rays, and during the Post-Classic Period (900-1521 CE) he is rendered with a beard, a rare attribute during Classic times yet present below the chin on this portrayal.