Available:*
Library | Material Type | Shelf Number | Child Count | Shelf Location | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Science | Book | F1435.3 .S34 S345 1997 | 1 | Stacks | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
This gorgeous book, five years in production, offers inspiring insight into the Maya in a wholly different light: knowledge unavailable even a few years ago.
Reviews (2)
Choice Review
Art is the most eloquent statement people make about themselves. The small funerary figures in clay made by the ancient Maya people reveal a great deal about their lives, dress, behavior, religious beliefs, systems of warfare, and a wide range of other issues. Schele offers an eloquent interpretation of these beautiful objects, providing data needed to understand the complex costumes, poses, events, gestures, and body art represented. The book is clear, scholarly, informative, and eloquent. It is organized by subject, with chapters on Maya women and men, soldiers and warfare, the ball game, gods and spiritual beings, and others. Most of the excellent photos are full page, and all are in color. An unusual feature is that most of the images are discussed on the same page or facing page, eliminating a lot of page turning. The objects illustrated come from 12 important public collections in Mexico and the US. The quality of the publication is a testament to the extraordinary contribution Schele has made in the past 20 years to understanding the language, art, history, and beliefs of the ancient Maya. Highly recommended for university and public libraries. General readers; undergraduates through faculty. C. D. Roy University of Iowa
Library Journal Review
Among the most exquisite artistic achievements of the pre-Columbian Maya are their ceramic figurines. Particularly associated with sites at Jaina, Palenque, and Jonuta, these elegantly realistic yet modestly scaled works provide an extraordinary insight into Maya society, religion, and funerary practice. Pérez de Lara's numerous and striking color photographs and the informative text of the recently deceased, preeminent Mayanist Schele come together to create a lucid if not completely balanced introduction to these superb objects. The main thrusts of Schele's concise, thematic essays are informed identifications of the figurines, garments, and accouterments and discussions of the iconographic significance. By contrast, the works are only haphazardly provenanced, and Schele rarely considers stylistic qualities, chronological locus, or attributional problems. This volume is nevertheless both visually and intellectually the best jumping-off point for this wondrous material. Well recommended for art and archaeology collections. [For more on Maya culture, see Martin Brennan's The Hidden Maya and John Major Jenkins's Maya Cosmogenesis 2012, reviewed on p. 95.Ed.]Robert Cahn, Fashion Inst. of Technology, New York (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.