Lives of the Gods: Divinity in Maya Art at The Met Fifth Avenue

 

Throne back
600–909
Limestone
H. 43 11/16 × W. 65 3/8 × D. 9 1/4 in., 937 lb. (111 × 166 × 23.5 cm, 425 kg)
Museo Amparo Collection
Maya.033

 
 

Lives of the Gods

Divinity in Maya Art

November 21, 2022 April 2, 2023

 

In Maya art, the gods are depicted at all stages of life: as infants, as adults at the peak of their maturity and influence, and as they age. The gods could die, and some were born anew, serving as models of regeneration and resilience. In Lives of the Gods: Divinity in Maya Art, rarely seen masterpieces and recent discoveries trace the life cycle of the gods, from the moment of their creation in a sacred mountain to their dazzling transformations as blossoming flowers or fearsome creatures of the night.

Maya artists, who lived in what is now Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, depicted the gods in imaginative ways from the monumental to the miniature—from exquisitely carved, towering sculptures to jade, shell, and obsidian ornaments that adorned kings and queens, connecting them symbolically to supernatural forces. Finely painted ceramics reveal the eventful lives of the gods in rich detail.

Created by master artists of the royal cities of the Classic period (A.D. 250–900) Maya, the nearly 100 landmark works in Lives of the Gods evoke a world in which the divine, human, and natural realms are interconnected and alive.

 
 
 

Click the video below to watch Lives of the Gods: Divinity in Maya Art Virtual Opening.

 
 
 

Click the video below to watch The Dance of the Macaws.

 
 
 

Exhibition Highlights

 

K'in Lakam Chahk
Jun Nat Omootz
Panel with royal woman
795
Limestone
H. 23 3/4 × W. 27 1/2 × D. 4 in. 80 lbs (60.4 × 69.8 × 10.2 cm, 36.3 kg)
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1962.32
Maya.106

Whistling vessel
5th century
Ceramic
H. 11 7/8 x W. 7 3/4 x D. 5 1/4 in. (30.2 x 19.7 x 13.3 cm)
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection
Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1963
1978.412.90a, b

Whistle with the Maize God emerging from a flower
600–900
Ceramic, pigment
H. 8 1/8 x W. 2 x D. 1 1/2 in. (20.7 x 5.1 x 3.8 cm)
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979
1979.206.728

Panel fragment
7th–8th century
Limestone
H. 39 3/4 × W. 25 9/16 × (Approx.) D. 9 13/16 in., 661.4 lb. (101 × 65 × 25 cm, 300 kg)
Museo de Sitio de Palenque Alberto Ruz L’Huillier, Mexico, Secretaría de Cultura–Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia
Maya.046

Censer stand
690–720
Ceramic, pigment
H. 44 × W. 22 × D. 12 1/4 in., 103 lb. (111.8 × 55.9 × 31.1 cm, 46.7 kg)
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas
Maya.004

Deity figure
3rd–6th century
Jade (pyroxene jadeite)
H. 4 1/4 x W. 2 1/2 x D. 15/16 in. (10.8 x 6.4 x 2.3 cm)
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection,
Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979
1979.206.1069

Monument 155 (Captive impersonating jaguar deity)
ca. 700
Sandstone
H. 22 7/16 × W. 18 1/8 × D. 4 5/16 in., 176.4 lb. (57 × 46 × 11 cm, 80 kg)
Museo de Sitio de Toniná, Mexico, Secretaría de Cultura–Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia
Maya.040

Pendant
7th–9th century
Jadeite, pigment
H. 3 × W. 1 1/2 × D. 1 1/2 in. (7.6 × 3.8 × 3.8 cm)
Gift of Steven Kossak, The Kronos Collections, 2015
2015.677

Lo’ Took’ Akan (?) Xok, Maya, active 8th century
Squared vessel
755–780
Ceramic, slip, stucco
H. 9 5/8 × W. 6 1/2 × D. 6 3/8 in. (24.45 × 16.51 × 16.19 cm)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Anonymous gift Maya.078

Censer stand
7th–8th century
Ceramic
H. 26 × W. 14 9/16 × D. 6 5/16 in., 132.3 lb. (66 × 37 × 16 cm, 60 kg)
Museo de Sitio de Palenque Alberto Ruz L’Huillier, Mexico, Secretaría de Cultura–Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia
Maya.042

Sak[...] Yuk[...] Took’
Sak [...] Yib'ah Tzak B’ahlam
Stela 51
731
Limestone
Overall w/ concrete base: H. 11 ft. 7 in. × W. 64 9/16 in. × D. 31 7/8 in. (353 cm, 164 cm, 81 cm)
Stela Widest: H. 10 ft. 3 1/4 in. × W. 60 1/4 in. × D. 15 3/4 in., 8818.4 lb. (313 × 153 × 40 cm, 4000 kg)
Stela Narrowest: H. 10 ft. 3 1/4 in. × W. 53 15/16 in. × D. 15 3/4 in. (313 × 137 × 40 cm) Concrete Base: H. 15 3/4 in. × W. 64 9/16 in. × D. 31 7/8 in. (40 cm, 164 cm, 81 cm) Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City, Secretaría de Cultura–Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia Maya.036

Codex-style vessel showing the rebirth of the Maize God
650–800
Ceramic, pigment
H. 6 1/8 × W. 4 5/8, 14.143 oz. (15.5 × 11.7 × 4.5 cm, 401g) Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City, Secretaría de Cultura–Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia Maya.159

Wajaat Na Chahk and a collaborator
Panel 3
ca. 782–795 Limestone
Overall: (Approx.) H. 19 11/16 × W. 39 3/8 × D. 9 13/16 in., 375 lb. (50 × 100 × 25 cm, 170.1 kg)
Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, Guatemala City, Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes de Guatemala
L.2021.28.3

K'in Lakam Chahk Patlajte' K'awiil Mo[...]
Throne 1
785
Limestone
Overall: (Approx.) H. 59 1/16 × W. 78 3/4 × D. 78 3/4 in., 1570 lb. (150 × 200 × 200 cm, 712.1 kg)
Seatback: 550 lb. (249.5 kg)
Seat: 830 lb. (376.5 kg)
Legs: 190 lb. (86.2 kg)
Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, Guatemala City, Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes de Guatemala
L.2021.28.2

Column, Costumed Figure
8th–9th century
Limestone
H. 68 3/4 x W. 29 (173.4 x 73.7 cm)
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Gift of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1963
1978.412.88

Attributed to the Metropolitan Painter, active 7th–8th century A.D.
Vessel, mythological scene
7th–8th century
Ceramic
H. 4 1/2 × W. 4 15/16 × D. 4 15/16 in. (11.4 × 12.5 × 12.5 cm)
Purchase, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller and Gifts of Nelson A. Rockefeller, Nathan Cummings, S.L.M. Barlow, Meredith Howland, and Captain Henry Erben, by exchange; and funds from various donors, 1980
1980.213

Bird Ornament
7th–8th century
Shell
H. 2 1/2 x W. 2 1/2 x D. 1/2 in. (6.4 x 6.4 x 1.3 cm)
The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, Purchase, Mrs. Gertrud A. Mellon Gift, 1963
1978.412.103

Tripod plate, mythological scene
7th–8th century
Ceramic with red, cream, and black slip
Diam. 16 1/2 in. (41.9 cm)
Gift of the Mol Collection, 2021
2021.320

Monumental figure (Chahk)
9th century
Limestone
Object w/ Plate : 84 7/8 × 24 × 20 in., 969 lb. (215.6 × 61 × 50.8 cm, 439.5 kg)
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1966
66.181