Discovered by the English archaeologist Alfred Maudslay in the late nineteenth century, it now forms part of the British Museum's extensive collection of ancient artefacts from Central America.
[1] Dated to the late 8th Century AD, the panel is both a work of art and a significant historical record of royal authority.
The scene portrayed on this enormous sculpture is thought to depict King Yax-Pac's accession to the throne, overseen by his ancestors from previous dynasties.
Yax-pac is shown seated to the right of the central text; it is conjectured that the deceased kings' presence helped to justify his claim to the royal throne.
He shipped it to England along with a number of other sculptures from the site and later donated most of his collection to the Victoria and Albert Museum, which in turn transferred Maudslay's original sculptures and extensive range of casts to the British Museum in 1923.