Jaguar God of the Underworld, a 7th-8th century ceramic censer from Palenque, Mexico on view as part of Lives of the Gods: Divinity in Maya Art.
In the introduction to the catalogue Lives of the Gods: Divinity in Maya Art, anthropologist Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos describes how representations of gods in ceramic incense burners are viewed by Lacandon people (present day Maya in Guatemala and Mexico), and this contemporary practice gives us clues as to the importance of historical depictions of gods. For the Lacandon, the censers have autonomous spiritual qualities, with volition and power of their own, and a life cycle tied to the life of the ceramic sculpture.
Making censers is comparable to giving birth and newly made censers must be cared for like children. Small stones placed inside the censer are regarded as their souls and the embodiments of the gods. People provide food and drink for the censers, which age and eventually die. Special ceremonies mark the death of the old censers and their renewal with freshly made ones. Similarly, Lacandon ceramic drums have the face of K’ayom, the god of music, and are considered to be animated beings, engendered by the women who make them and educated by the men who add the membranes and play them.”
The catalogue accompanies a museum show of the same name on view at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City from November 2022 – April 2023 and at the Kimbell Museum of Art in Fort Worth Texas from May – September 2023.
Images of the ceramic whistles depicting gods emerging from flowers.
Beautifully illustrated throughout, the catalogue further expands on the exhibition, which includes numerous ceramic and stone sculptures, ceramic vessels and whistles, relief carvings in stone and wood, and video. The catalogue includes an introduction and seven essays, based on recent research and new interpretations of Mayan texts.
One of the most delightful parts of the show were small ceramic sculptures of people emerging from flowers. Thought to depict gods and also dead relatives, the catalogue text shows x-rays revealing these sculptures as whistles.
The show and catalogue are a must see. Just a stunning collection of work.
Lives of the Gods: Divinity in Maya Art
Edited by Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos, James A. Doyle, and Joanne Pillsbury
Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and Yale University Press
Hardcover, 244 pages, 2022
Listed at $50, but typically available for less.
Images From Inside the Book
Cover page
Table of Contents
Two stone sculptures
The show includes numerous covered ceramic serving dishes with animal head lids.
The catalog helpfully includes pictures showing the entire image found on round ceramic vessels.
Have you seen the show or read this catalogue? Let us know in the comments.
