Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya

Rating:
Summary: Mayan Art -- expected and not
Review: I have had the great luck of being near San Francisco and thus being able to go to the Palace of the Legion of Honor and its show on Art of the Mayan Court. To say this show was staggering is something of an understatement. I have seen art shows on Magritte, Degas, Dali, Tutankhamen, the Celts, various Chinese exhibits and the like and I can say that this was probably my second favourite show, right after Treasures of Early Irish Art where I was able to see the Book of Kells, the Ardagh Chalice and the Tara Brooch.

Here was able to see works rather less known, but of such fascination and splendour that I have trouble trying to describe them. Luckily, this book exists.

The book not only has marvelous colour photos of the items from the exhibit, including many detail plates, but also in situ photos, especially of Palanque, the primary focus of the exhibit. On top of this the text of this book is incredibly helpful for those of us (most!) who know little or nothing of the various Mayan courts, their art, their mythology, and their history. No, this is not a complete history, though there are many excellent books on that topic that have been written since the decoding of the Mayan language (especially since the great leap in understanding since the early 1980s). Instead, this book provides basic understanding of the art and the context in which it was created.

This is a beautiful book, lovely to hold, well-bound, and full of great wonder. To leaf through it is to glimpse through the smoking mirror of Mayan folklore, receiving prophetic statements not always clearly stated, but intriguing nonetheless. To read the book is to glimpse behind that mirror and begin, somewhat, to understand a lost yet awesome culture.

Look, read, enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Achievement!
Review: Mary Ellen Miller and Simon Martin build upon their previous triumphs with this excellent volume.
Mary Ellen collaborated with the legendary Linda Schele to co-curate The Blood of Kings exhibition and produce an exquisite catalogue in 1986. The exhibition was one of the seminal events in allowing the public, avocationals and their fellow scholars to witness the grandeur and magnificence of ancient Maya culture and science. Their groundbreaking research into concepts of Maya kingship, history, daily life, and Linda's work on the decipherment of the ancient Maya hieroglyphic writing system were brought together in that excellent catalogue.
In 2000, Simon (who has published extensively on Maya epigraphy and culture) co-authored Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens with Nikolai Grube. This work is one of the most readable, detailed and well organized volumes on Maya history to date.
These authors' continuation of building strength of their presentation through multidisciplinary collaboration makes their current volume, Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya, a huge success.
The pages show their individual and shared strengths and skills as art historian, artist, epigrapher, as well as writing with a thorough grasp of their entire subject matter. Each, having collaborated with many colleagues in the vanguard of Maya studies, brings the comprehensive sum of the latest knowledge into this work.
One suspects that many comparisons will rightly be made to The Blood of Kings, and doing so seems a great compliment to this current work and the authors. Just as the 1986 exhibition and catalogue presented many very famous art objects and placed them into historical and cultural context in Maya history, the collection presented here may surpass the former one in terms of the variety and most of all the timeliness in which many objects are exhibited. Some of the highlighted objects of the current collection have only been excavated in the past decade. In particular, the exquisite platform tablet from Palenque Temple 21 has only come to light during INAH excavations in the past 5 years. It's presence in this collection is indeed remarkable. Additionally, the many beautiful pieces from Tonina have only been placed in that site's new regional museum and been available to the public in the past 5 years as well.
The value of this volume is greatly increased by the addition of detailed descriptions of the art objects, their context, and especially translations of the hieroglyphic writing, where present. The advances made in the writing system's decipherment in the past 20 years make the objects even more accessible to both students of Maya history and culture, and non-Mayanists as well. The beauty and quality of the photographic images and line drawings are especially impressive.
Anyone who has taken an interest in large art exhibitions of objects housed in such world-wide institutions has to stand in awe of this collection coming together. Those of use familiar with the art of Mesoamerica and the Maya world have looked forward to an exhibition of this type and scope in the U.S. for many years. It is a great tribute to the talents (and undoubtedly the great diplomacy) of Mary Ellen, Simon and the other curators to bring these objects into one great show. The catalogue that they have produced is not only a visual joy to linger over, but will be a valuable reference work for many years.
Having been elated with this catalogue, I cannot wait to travel to either (or both) Washington DC and San Francisco to view the collection first hand.