Art of the Maya

1. Art of the Maya Maya art is considered by many to be the most sophisticated and beautiful of the ancient New World Maya: 2000 BC

3. Maya Art Depicts: • Gods • Great Rulers • Heroes • Religious Themes • Daily Life

4. The Maya used natural materials to make their colors • Minerals • Plants • Charcoal • Iron – Rich Clay

5. Maya Painting

6. Maya Murals Maya Paintings on Plaster

7. Maya Pottery Most Maya pottery was decorated with: •Images of humans •Animals •Mythological creatures. God being born from a seed

8. Clay and pigment Bowl, Jaguar in Motion decorates the outside of the Bowl Codex style vase

9. Vessel in the shape of an old man emerging from a snail shell Maya Late Classic (600-900 A.D.) Unknown Burnished and painted clay

11. Maya Sculpture • Stone • Wood • Stucco • Jade

12. Giant Stone Head Weighs 24 tons Jade Mask

13. A ballplayer in the act of hitting a ball with his hip and the text recounts the date of dedication of the ball court it was set in.

14. A small Maya stone sculpture used as an instrument to pound meats, nuts, and seeds

15. A reconstruction of the main temple at Copan clearly demonstrating how all Maya temples were brightly colored originally

16. A detail of the Dresden Codex, one of only 6 Maya codices , or painted books, to survive the Conquest

17. A page from the Madrid Codex

18. Mayan Hieroglyphics