After leaving the world behind, the Maya sovereign had to embark upon a journey to the underworld that could only be undertaken with a divine face to be reborn triumphantly in the east as the sun and the eternal sustenance of the world. The powerful jade mask granted this face, showing that of the maize god. Placed on the left side of his face. toward sunset, it indicated the path he had to follow after his death. For more than 1200 years the ancient ruler remained in the interior of his sacred mountain until he was rediscovered in 1984. Thanks to the restoration carried out in 2004, his mask and jade funerary goods now shine again in their full original splendor.