Bryan Keefer is co-author of the New York Times bestseller about
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Category: Archaeology
Maya Masterpieces
I’ve been planning a trip to Mexico for a few months now, so I went up to the Met earlier this week to check out the “Treasures of Sacred Maya Kings” exhibit (on display through September 10). [Update: Took the tip. You can check out my small Flickr photoset for more.]
It’s an art-historical exhibition, focusing on depictions of Maya rulers, rather than larger-scale lintels and sculpture (which were the focus of another Mayan art http://www.thinker.org/legion/exhibitions/exhibition.asp?exhibitionkey=332">exhibit I saw in 2004). The show suffers from a couple of drawbacks: first, the hyperbolic title, which is technically accurate but creates expectations for the casual visitor that the exhibit doesn’t quite match; and second, the hoaky music echoing through the first few rooms of the exhibition space from an introductory video playing in a side gallery. But there are some great pieces on display.
One of the most masterful pieces is the first one the visitor sees: a stela featuring a Maya ruler dressed as the Principal Bird Deity. It’s carved in several levels of relief; the face of the ruler is recessed behind the mask.
There’s also eccentric flint (scroll down) carved in the shape of a lightning god, with shreds of the blue textile it was covered in still affixed; a hematite mirror, made of polished polygonal stones; a remarkable wooden figure (scroll down) from the Met’s permanent collection (probably the best example known of Mayan wooden sculpture, I’ve read); and a jade funerary mask. My favorite item, though, was a set of carved jade pieces from a burial that had been sprinkled with cinnabar, which colors the incised carvings an electric orange on the light-green jade. (You can browse the catalog from one of the earlier stops on the exhibit’s tour.)
And while you’re on the Upper East Side, stop by the Neue Gallery to check out their new Klimt painting (which also happens to be the most expensive painting ever sold). As Lauren notes, they also have a wonderful Austrian-style café on the ground floor, one of the better-kept secrets on the Upper East Side.
- June 25, 2007
filed under: Archaeology
Where I’ve Been
I’m just back from a trip to Mexico and Guatemala, visiting Mayan ruins and such. (I’ve posted a small Flickr photoset of some of the more interesting sights.) I’ll be writing more about it as soon as I get over the culture shock of returning to New York.
- October 23, 2006
- filed under: Archaeology
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