The Maya portrait stelae is a representation of a Mayan ruler in a ritual dress.  In 1839, John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood were the first to bring back drawings of the remains of the Maya civilization.  After years of research we now believe that the ones who sculpted these monuments were commissioned by elites who lorded over vast areas.  The cities in which these were found were very large and in these cities were pyramids and temples with other sculptures.  The purpose of the stelae was to portray visionary power.  Idealization that rulers appear to be young, handsome, and athletic.  The ruler in this slab is believed to have worn authoritative clothing, such as jewels, symbols and a headdress that stood about half as tall as the ruler himself.  Although there is not much mystery left within the stelae, there are questions in regard to how it functioned.  The ideology of the rulers seems to be one sided, even fabricated. There is little information on how something like the stelae was viewed by the public.  





I believe that something of this size, detail and information gathered can be further explored within the sites of the Palenque/Maya people.  The Cities made were much more advanced than many we have seen in our history.  Being able to have a system that aloud “apartment” type living that when seen is very different based on location.  The rulers of these civilizations seem to believe that money, strength and knowledge was worthy of power.  In something like this it leads me to wonder, where can we find empathy within history?  Though visualizations explain a lot while studying, are there historical pieces that show union, struggle or even difference in rank? 


Dr. Catherine E. Burdick, "Classic Maya portrait stelae," in Smarthistory, August 9, 2015, accessed November 17, 2020, https://smarthistory.org/classic-maya-portrait-stelae/.


Comments

  1. Justin DwinellNovember 18, 2020 at 11:35 AM

    Hello Brenden,

    You chose a very interesting piece for this week’s blog. I have never seen a portrait in this type of form before, which made it very intriguing to me. I really enjoyed the excerpt of background information that you provided about the reason to why this portrait was done and where it was founded. It blows my mind how advanced these cities were, I had no idea of what they were capable of. I believe that there are many pieces specifically in the medieval time frame that show union, struggle or even difference in rank. This is just my own personal opinion to answer your question, well written post.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Madison CunninghamNovember 18, 2020 at 6:48 PM

    Hello Brenden! I enjoyed looking at the piece you chose for this week. I was considering the slabs to write about as well. I am fond of the headpieces I have seen in a majority of the art. Unfortunately, I don't think we can find much empathy in history. It is full of dark and shameful actions. However, we are able to find beautiful and lively pieces of art.

    ReplyDelete
  3. David FloresNovember 19, 2020 at 10:34 AM

    This was very cool, I didn't know all this about this stele. Although, I think I have seen before I'm not sure though. I enjoyed this it was interesting to learn this was half as tall as the actual ruler; I was expecting this to be at least 7 feet tall or somewhere around there. Either way thanks for the post it was interesting to read.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Xaiyne Calma-ViloriaNovember 24, 2020 at 12:51 AM

    Your insight sparks legitimate question in me as well: “Where can we find empathy within history?” I’m sure there are definitely examples out there, but none off the top of my head. Most art I can think of only off the top of my head are utilitarian, ceremonial, about war or messages of, or portray some sort of religious purpose.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Artwork analysis: My son sanctuary

Image
The art piece I chose to write about this week is the alter-pedestal of the Mỹ Sơn sanctuary.  The alter-pedestal and the sanctuary that hold the pedestal was a temple that was made to praise Hindu gods.  From the 4 th to the 13 th centuries this was a sacred sight that had more than seventy Hindu temples.  This temple was built for the God Siva which was built by the people of Champa.  Many of the temples made have survived since the 7 th century.  Inside the temples there is a rectangular room dedicated to an alter-pedestal at the center called a garba-griha, or sanctum.  The pedestal was symbolized to be a seat for the Hindu god Siva, and it was designed to resemble Meru, or, “the center of the universe,” where the gods live.  At the base of the steps to the alter there are three engraved shapes of men to symbolize that they are embracing the spiritual world above them. Above the first set of figures lays 3 more male figures that is holding from what it looks like a ritual cloth.
Read more

Artwork analysis: The Black Death

Image
 The art piece I chose to write about is called “The black death.”  The piece is a depiction of the black plague, with the plague personified as the black plague.  In the piece arrows are used to strike those around her, specifically in the neck or the armpit areas likely where the infection would spread.  Black death appeared in Europe around 1348, and it killed nearly a quarter to half the regions population.   The black plague victims would experience flu-like symptoms at first and then would see, “a swell beneath their armpits and their groins.”  The disease worked fast and killed fast.  Normandy had lost nearly 70-80 percent of its population.   The pandemic ended up killing approximately half of Europe’s population of all trades.   Young, old, rich, poor, religious or not.   During the time of the pandemic, William Langland, wrote in a poem saying, “God is deaf nowadays and will not hear us.   And for our guilt her grind good men to dust.”   With social stability in pieces and sl
Read more

Artwork analysis: Igbo Ukwu

Image
The Igbo Ukwu is, and African Iron Age archaeological site located near tehe modern town of Onitsha.   There is a bronze container in the shape of a shell with no name from what I can find.   At the top of the container there is believed to be a leopard that is standing over a circular pedestal.   The shell is different in comparison to other shells in where there are specific designs to look like circles, diamonds, and herringbone ornamentation.   The leopard can be found on other imagery of Igbo Ukwu that has historians believe that the leopards have ritual importance. At another nearby site, at the Igbo Richard, a grave found near the home Richard Anozie.   The Igbo-Richard was a burial place for elite, wealthy people.   It is unknown if the person was a ruler or had some religious or secular role in their community.   A cast bronze leopard skull was found at this sight of Isaiah’s brother.   In this culture the leopard is a frequently chosen symbol of political power, and even mili
Read more