Pre-Hispanic Art in Cleveland

I wrote earlier that my cousin Gail and I visited the reopened Cleveland Museum of Art.  After seeing an exhibit of Latin American prints which included works by many of Mexico's most famous artists, I suggested that we continue the Mexican theme and go to the galleries of pre-Hispanic art.

At the entrance to the gallery is an impressive piece of Maya sculpture.  This stela (a free standing stone monument with relief carving) comes from the ruins of Waká in Guatemala.  It dates from A.D. 692.  

The carving shows the queen of Waká richly adorned with a feather headdress and jewelry.  The small figure next to her may be a dwarf who served as an attendant.

Obviously Cleveland's collection is small compared to the archaeological museums of Mexico, but most of the important cultures of Mesoamerica are represented.

The oldest civilization of Mexico was that of the Olmecs.  This Olmec figurine is carved from jade and dates from between 900 and 500 B.C.   It is beautifully executed even though jade is an extremely hard stone, and the pre-Hispanic peoples had no metal tools.

This fragment of a statue of a kneeling man, shows that Olmec carvings were often very naturalistic.  This piece may date from as early as 1600 B.C.

From the Mayan culture comes this painted plate with a feline figure.  It dates from between A.D. 250 and 900.

This Mayan ceramic vessel is painted with a battle scene.  It was used by nobles for drinking chocolate.

These Mayan ceramic figures from Guatemala (A.D. 850 - 900) represent the gods of art and of writing.

This Mayan figurine of a warrior was a grave offering found on the island of Jaina off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula.  The headdress is removable.  Traces of the original paint remain.

This head of a Mayan nobleman from around A.D. 750 comes from the ruins of Copán in Honduras.

This mask comes from Teotihuacan, the great city which flourished north of Mexico City for many centuries.  It dates from between A.D. 1 and 550.

From the present day Mexican state of Nayarit, along the Pacific coast, comes this pair of ceramic figures representing a man and a woman.  They may have commemorated the marriage of an important couple.  They were made between 200 and 300 B.C.

This ceramic piece (1000 -1500) from Veracruz probably represents a priest wearing the skin of a female sacrificial victim.  He would be impersonating Xipe Totec, the god of fertility and regeneration.

From the Aztec civilization (1325-1521) comes this figure which is probably the god Xochipilli, the deity of beauty, art and pleasure.  He holds a bunch of flowers and carries a bundle of corn on his back.

There will be more photos from the Cleveland Museum of Art coming in future posts.