Art of the Ancient Americas

Art 9 Art of the Ancient Americas

Lecture 8 Late Classic Maya

Palenque  Occupied as far back as 4th century AD o Rose to prominence about 600 – 750 AD

 Lord Pakal (“Shield 2”) 615-683 AD o He and two sons commissioned most structures o Three distinct phases of building

 Layout follows natural topography o No sacbes

 Architectural advance: o Corbeled vaults set parallel to one another o Creates greater interior space o Stable construction . Consequently, well preserved

 “Solid mass gave way to a web-like shell for the first time in Mesoamerican history.” –Miller

 “At Palenque the achievement of private, interior space is as significant as the negative, public space defined by the volumes of the buildings.” - Miller

Palace Palenque Palace. Petén. Late Classic.  Series of buildings o Two levels o Probably built over 100 years

 Trapezoidal platform o 328’ X 246’

 Royal Residence? o Steam baths o Plumbing system o Focus of royal ceremonies as well

 House E o Painted white

1 o Adorned with flowers . Inscription = “White flower house” o Unlike other Palace buildings

 Three-story tower o Built during final phase of construction o Astronomic observatory? o Defensive purpose?

Temple of the Inscriptions Temple of the Inscriptions. Palenque. Seventh-century AD.  Nine levels o Mayans and Aztecs believed Underworld had nine layers o 75 feet o Set directly into hillside

 Shrine at top had nine entrances o Three-part, vaulted inner chamber

 Tall roof comb

 Stucco sculpture on façade o Inscriptions carved on back wall of portico and central inner chamber

 Aligned with the sun on north south axis o “At winter solstice, the Sun sets behind the high ridge beyond the temple, in line with the centre of the temple roof. As the Sun crosses the sky, it enters a doorway in the temple, hits the back wall and, as it heads for the horizon beyond the temple, appears to descend the temple stairway into Pacal's tomb. Pacal's death and entry into the Underworld are thus equated with the Sun's death and entry into the Underworld.” – website ?

 1952 archaeologists discovered stairway beneath shrine o 80 feet to corbelled chamber o Connected by 13 corbels . Believed heavens had 13 levels o Undisturbed tomb of Lord Pakal

Pakal Tomb Lord Pakal’s Sarcohagus Lid. Palenque. Seventh-century AD.  Monolithic sarcophagus o Uterus shaped o Lid weighs 5 tons o Sarcophagus weighs more than 15 tons . Intended to remain there forever

2  Remains covered with jade and cinnabar o Jade mosaic mask assembled directly on dead king’s face

 Lid carved in low relief o Depicts king at moment of death o Pacal balanced between spirit world and earth o Lies on head of creature that represents setting sun o Falling into jaws of monster of the underworld o Sacred tree above him . Roots in earth . Trunk in world . Branches support celestial bird in heavens

 Theme of death and rebirth o Ancestors carved on sides o Emerging from the ground

 Unique in that it was build before ruler’s death o He probably planned it

Lord Pakal  80 when died o Son = Chan Bahlum o Maya kings normally inherited their title through their fathers. Pacal's father was not a king, but his mother and great grandmother were both powerful women who ruled as true kings. Although this created a dilemma for the government because of the convention of patrilineal descent, these two exceptional women defied tradition by taking charge of the throne. Pacal established an unshakable claim to the throne even though he was not the son of a king. He explained this change as being preordained by the gods. To legitimize his claim, he declared his mother to be the living embodiment of the First Mother, who created the gods and humans. This meant that Pacal was the son of a goddess. To add more weight to his argument, he claimed he was born on a day that exactly replicated the birth date of the First Mother. In this way, he secured his position as king. – Website?

Copán  Honduras

 Distinctive aesthetic o Buildings made of local volcanic stone . Easily worked . Pink, brown, green

3 o Buildings located to take advantage of views of valley and mountains

Structure 22 Structure 22. Copán.  Many structures in Yucatan have monster-mouth facades

 Where kings pronounced o Enter rear chamber through monster mouth o Framed private chamber where rites performed o Symbolic cave entry into sacred mountain

Zoomorph Zoomorph P. Quiriguá  Innovative sculpture o River boulders carved on all surfaces o Composite jaguar, toad, crocodile or bird forms

 Ruler emerges from monster mouth o Resembles setting like Structure 22

 Full-figure personifications of hieroglyphs also inscribed on these type of sculptures o Script turned into narrative sculpture

Great Hieroglyphic Stairway Hieroglyphic Stairway. Copán. Eighth-century AD.  Pyramid o Steps inscribed with 2200 glyphs o Describe history of Copan

 Unification of sculpture, architecture and writing

 Unusual carved scroll balustrade o Resembles balustrade of Pyramid of the Niches

Altar Q Altar Q. Copán.  K’inich’ Yax K’uk Mo = Great Sun, Green Quetzal Macaw o Word sign- Macaw head = read “Mo” o Syllabic signs combined to spell words . Syllables K’u-K’u = quetzal o Could also be pictorial

4  Named after region in nw Yucatan o Hilly region

 Puuc buildings have: o Rubble-filled concrete walls o Faced with thin veneer of dressed stone o Plain lower facades supporting decorated upper facades o Constructed of individually carved pieces o Sculptural decoration resembles mosaic

Quadrangle of the Nuns  Exemplifies pioneering Puuc architectural techniques: o ‘Boot’ stones in vaults . Allowing for expansive vaulted chambers o Flying facades o Light, airy roofcombs . Set directly over front, weight-bearing wall o Veneer masonry o Well-cut stones . Precisely fit together . Without mortar . Disguising rubble core

Sculpture and Vase Painting  Human form commonly depicted in Maya art o Elite were subjects rather than gods o Rulers performing rituals in elaborate costumes and headdresses

 Generally favored low-relief

 Artists held high status in Mayan society o Importance of record keeping o Often members of ruling elite

Lintel 25. Yaxchilan.  Lady Xoc, wife of Shield Jaguar, receives vision o Bloodletting tools at feet o Warrior holding shield and wearing Tlaloc mask . In x-ray . Emerges from serpent mouth

Piedras Negras Stela 14. Piedras Negras.  Higher relief than usually seen

5 o Special attention on human faces . Three dimensionality

 Commemorated ruler’s ascension to throne o Accepts instruments of office from Mother . Depicted in 2 dimensional, shallow relief o Curtains pulled back at top of niche o To reveal new king

Codex Style Pot  Maya ‘elite wares’

 Imagery on such pots may have derived from books o Therefore, called ‘codex style’

 Often depict supernatural world o Mythic scenes o “Common theme celebrates sacrifice of a baby jaguar by a dancing death god and Chaak, sometimes with a dog and firefly looking on.” -Miller

Bonampak Wall Painting. Bonampak. Eighth-century.  Bonampak paintings stumbled upon 1946 o Preservation a fluke o Shortly after completion water seeped in, forming calcifications o Remarkably well preserved

 Depict hundreds of Maya depicted celebrating the festivities of bloodshed o Royal women sit on throne . Perform penance by running ropes and spines through tongues o (Lower left) woman holds infant . Bound baby’s heads to produce elongated skull and sloping forehead . May be drawing blood from finger . Heir? o (Right) servant hands sharp spine to woman in front