Ancient Mayan art was composed of a complex
symbolic language with extremely important
social functions. Mainly commissioned by kings
and other high elite, works of Mayan art fulfilled
both political and social purposes. Because the
art functioned as a type of language, to be
understood by the entire population, a certain
consistency in subject matter and its portrayal
was necessary. While this limited the Mayan
artist's individual creativity to some degree,
where he could distinguish himself was the
detail of execution, as revealed in this
extraordinary polychrome quadruped bowl. Here
we see the results of a skilled potter whose
ceramic technique involved not only the creation
of an elegantly shaped quadruped bowl, but the
novel inclusion of the head and paws of an
animal, who eyes peers at us from the carinated
edge of the vessel. Detailed polychrome figures,
glyphs and decorative patterns on the surfaces
of the vessel attest to the Mayan artist's skilled
line work, a calligraphic tradition that rivals that
of the Chinese. In fact, the Maya invented a
brush identical in form to the Chinese brush, to
fulfill the same function--as the tool for
calligraphic line work in both painting and
writing. Although the Ancient Mayan symbolic
language on this vase may be unclear, what is
known for certain is the pleasure that is
experienced when we behold this remarkable
and highly spirited work of ceramic art.
- (PF.2546)
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