Is the King holding a severed head?
It’s possible, could also be a shrunken head.
Beheading and ceremonial display of the victim's noggin' was a standard way of dealing with high-ranking war prisoners. The Mayans were geniuses at obsidian-knapping. They made both intricate objects for religious rites out of volcanic glass and ultra-sharp knives for such tasks as beheading as well. It's hard for me to ignore that connection.