In the imagery surrounding king and nobles,
costumes and ornamentation were not only
symbols of rank, wealth and prestige, they were
also regarded as conduits of sacred power. The
Maya king was considered a divine being and
therefore the objects he wore during important
rituals would themselves acquire supernatural
energy; both from the king and the ritual itself.
This clever and potent interplay of royal
propaganda in the form of extravagant
ceremonies, courtly magnificence and mystical
ritual worked to enhance and maintain the rule of
the Maya kings. One of the most crucial of the
"sacred" objects the king wore was the celt. In
rows of one or two they hung from the royal belt,
immediately recognizable as essential to the
kingly regalia. Beautifully carved in jade, dusted
with cinnabar for its rich blood red color, this
lovely celt shows a king during a great
ceremony. He stands on an elevated platform or
altar with his clothes swirling about him as if he
is about to fly away, or become transformed into
a divine being. The sense of rhythm and
movement, of light and dark contrasts, of
abstract design and intricate symbolism gives
the entire celt a feeling of weightlessness and
hyper-reality. This is not only a portrait of a
great ruler, it is a document of an event which
once dazzled and entranced a great nation;
never to be seen again, except through the art a
great artist has left behind.
- (PF.4606)
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