The Ancient Maya
ICONOGRAPHY:
The particulars of the subject
matter of a work of art
Or
The meaning of the
symbolism in an artwork
Buddha Shakyamuni, Gandhara region, India
(now Pakistan), ca. 2nd to 3rd century CE
Colossal head (replica)
And Altar/Throne
Both Olmec, Gulf of Mexico,
ca. 900 BCE
Exekias, Ajax and Achilles Playing a
Game, Greece, ca. 540-30 BCE
Olmec, ca. 900 BCE
Mayan,
ca. 700 CE
MAYAN CIVILIZATION
Classic period
ca. 250 – 900 CE
Centered in southern
Mesoamerica, today SE Mexico,
Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and
El Salvador
Remains of Temple, Palenque
Remains of Palace, Sayil
Uxmal Palace, late Mayan site
Chakalte' (Maya, active A.D. 750–800)
RELIEF WITH ENTHRONED RULER, ca. 770
SHIELD JAGUAR AND LADY
XOK, Lintel 24, Structure
23, Yaxchilán (Maya),
Mexico, 725 CE
[Stokstad & Cothren, 15-7]
ICONOGRAPHY
ICONOGRAPHY
ICONOGRAPHY
• Headgear with shrunken head; indicates he has
participated in rituals to the gods in the past
• Holds huge torch, indicating that this happens in a
dark room
• Elaborate jewelry, jade beads at cuffs
• Headdress with feathers
• See self-mutilation, required of royalty
to gain favor of gods; so this act marks
her as royal
RITUAL
STYLE
STYLE
Reliefs on Ara Pacis, Rome, 13 – 9 BCE
Shield Jaguar and Lady Xok Lintel, Mayan, 725 CE
STYLE
Reliefs on Ara Pacis, Rome, 13 – 9 BCE
Shield Jaguar and Lady Xok Lintel, Mayan, 725 CE
Lintel 25
Vessel with Rain God Chahk
Mayan, 7th/8th century CE
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Vessel with Rain God Chahk
Mayan, 7th/8th century CE
Metropolitan Museum of Art
https://www.metmuse
um.org/art/collection/s
earch/310364
Composite photo - Vessel with Rain God Chahk and Spirit of Death/Decay, Mayan, 7th/8th century CE Metropolitan Museum of Art
Codex (codices) = Book(s)
Mayan “Codex Style” Vessels
Princeton Vase
Metropolitan Museum Vase
Dresden Codex
Chichen Itza, 11-12c
Throne Back,
Guatemala or Mexico
7th to 9th century
Throne Back,
Guatemala or Mexico
7th to 9th century
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/820333
Throne with Two Lords in the Eyes of a Mountain,
Guatemala, 8th century
Maize God in a Corn Husk
Mexico, 7th-9th century
Maize God
Honduras, 7th-9th century
Maya and the Sun Video, 3 min
https://smarthistory.org/maya-intro/
RITUAL
RITUAL
Both of these works refer to ritual—one
more directly, the other more obliquely.
The less literal rendering and the
monument it originally adorned often
are heralded as expressions of the
rational capacities of humanity. But the
ritual to which it refers has elements
that are fundamentally based in noisy,
messy, profoundly physical (as opposed
to intellectual) practices and attitudes.
How does considering these works in
relation to one another change your
understanding of both?
USE OF FEMALE FORM
Reliefs on Ara Pacis, Rome, 13 – 9 BCE
Shield Jaguar and Lady Xok Lintel, Mayan, 725 CE
Please identify each object (name,
place created, date). In both works
details of physique, adornment, and
gesture–or “attributes” in standard art
historical terminology–tell us about the
character of the figure represented.
How do these different attributes
manifest the ideals of the societies in
which the works were made? What do
we learn about the guiding principles of
each society from this comparison?
Please be sure to identify and explain
the key iconographic features of each
artwork in your answer.