K'inich Janaab' Pakal

During a trip to Mexico, many years ago, I picked up a couple of art works. They were done on a leather canvas, both depicting various Mayan carvings.

I rediscovered them at the end of last year, when packing to move house, had them framed and they now decorate the walls of my living room.

This one is a copy of the carvings found on the lid of a tomb, in one of the Pyramids at Palenque. He was a very long lived (for the time) ruler - he ruled for 68 years, having ascended to the throne at the tender age of 12.

This image depicts his descent into the underworld - Xibalba - & the cross in the middle is the stylised Tree of Life.

However, if you are, or are a follower of, Erich von Däniken, he is an astronaut in a rocket, heading off into space...

See the original here, photo taken around the time it was originally re-discovered: http://pakalahau.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/pakaltomb_inah1952.jpg