Hand-Carved Wood Sculpture of a Mayan Woman from Guatemala, "Mayan Midwife"

Guatemalan artisan Nicolas Chavez Sojuel designs a sculpture to depict a Mayan midwife standing atop a base, carving it by hand of cedar wood. Small details, such as the decorations on her clothing, the jewelry she wears, and her elaborate headdress are realized with a keen eye. In ancient Mayan society, Mayan noblewomen and midwives often wore decorative headdresses in order to accommodate enlarged craniums due to body alteration practices.