Research Catalog

Title

The spectacle of the late Maya court : reflections on the murals of Bonampak / by Mary Miller and Claudia Brittenham ; with new reconstruction paintings by Heather Hurst & Leonard Ashby for the Bonampak Documentation Project.

Author

Miller, Mary Ellen.

Publication

Austin : University of Texas Press, 2013.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

• Brittenham, Claudia
• Hurst, Heather.
• Ashby, Leonard.
• Bonampak Documentation Project.

Description

xxii, 261 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.) +; 34 cm.

Summary

From the publisher. Located within the deep tropical rainforest of Chiapas, Mexico, the Maya site of Bonampak is home to the most complete and magnificent mural program of the ancient Americas. In three rooms, a pageant of rulership opens up, scene by scene, like pages of an ancient Maya book. Painted c. AD 800, the murals of Bonampak reveal a complex and multifaceted view of the ancient Maya at the end of their splendor during the last days of the Classic era. Members of the royal court engage in rituals and perform human sacrifice, dance in extravagant costumes and strip the clothing from fallen captives, acknowledge foreign nobles, and receive abundant tribute. The murals are a powerful and sophisticated reflection on the spectacle of courtly life and the nature of artistic practice, a window onto a world that could not know its doomed future. This major new study of the paintings of Bonampak incorporates insights from decades of art historical, epigraphic, and technical investigation of the murals, framing questions about artistic conception, facture, narrative, performance, and politics. Lavishly illustrated, this book assembles thorough documentation of the Bonampak mural program, from historical photographs of the paintings -- some never before published -- to new full-color reconstructions by artist Heather Hurst, recipient of a MacArthur award, and Leonard Ashby. The book also includes a catalog of photographs, infrared images, and line drawings of the murals, as well as images of all the glyphic texts, which are published in their entirety for the first time. Written in an engaging style that invites both specialists and general readers alike, this book will stand as the definitive presentation of the paintings for years to come.

Series Statement

The William and Bettye Nowlin series in art, history, and culture of the Western Hemisphere

Uniform Title

William & Bettye Nowlin series in art, history, and culture of the Western Hemisphere.

Subject

• Maya mural painting and decoration > Usumacinta River Valley (Guatemala and Mexico)
• Mayas > Usumacinta River Valley (Guatemala and Mexico) > Kings and rulers
• Bonampak Site (Mexico)
• Usumacinta River Valley (Guatemala and Mexico) > Antiquities

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 245-253) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

Artistic conception -- The story in the murals -- Time, motion, and performance -- Art and politics.

ISBN

• 9780292744363 (cl. : alk. paper)
• 0292744366 (cl. : alk. paper)

LCCN

^^2012025777

OCLC

• 856989130
• SCSB-11289316

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library