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a stone sculpture of a fearsome and regal figure wearing an ornate headdress
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Lives of the Gods: Divinity in Maya Art

Pillsbury, Joanne, Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos, and James A. Doyle, with contributions by Iyaxel Cojti Ren, Caitlin C. Earley, Stephen D. Houston, and Daniel Salazar Lama
2022
244 pages
190 illustrations
8.5 x 11 in
Winner, Alfred H. Barr Jr. Award, 2024
This title is in print.
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An introduction to the complex stories of Mesoamerican divinity through the carvings, ceramics, and metalwork of the Maya Classic period

Lives of the Gods reveals how ancient Maya artists evoked a pantheon as rich and complex as the more familiar Greco-Roman, Hindu-Buddhist, and Egyptian deities. Focusing on the period between A.D. 250 and 900, the authors show how this powerful cosmology informed some of the greatest creative achievements of Maya civilization.

Met Art in Publication

Whistle with the Maize God emerging from a flower, Maya artist(s), Ceramic, Maya blue and hematite pigments, Maya
Whistle with the Maize God emerging from a flower
Maya artist(s)
600–900 CE
Vessel with mythological scene, Metropolitan Painter, Ceramic, slip, Maya
Vessel with mythological scene
Metropolitan Painter
600–800 CE
Statuette of Amun, Gold
Statuette of Amun
ca. 945–712 B.C.
Harihara, Sandstone, Cambodia or Vietnam
Harihara
Cambodia or Vietnam
late 7th–early 8th century
Shrine of the Virgin, Oak, linen covering, polychromy, gilding, gesso, German
Shrine of the Virgin
German
ca. 1300
Flywhisk (tahiri ra’a), Wood, coconut fiber, human hair, Rurutu or Tupua'I Island
Flywhisk (tahiri ra’a)
Rurutu or Tupua'I Island
Early–mid-19th century
Modified celt-pendant with incised motifs, Olmec artist(s), Jadeite, Olmec
Modified celt-pendant with incised motifs
Olmec artist(s)
900–600 BCE
Spider Monkey with Wind God Regalia, Stone, Mexica (Aztec)
Spider Monkey with Wind God Regalia
Mexica (Aztec)
1325–1521 ?
Whistling vessel, Maya artist(s), Ceramic, Maya
Whistling vessel
Maya artist(s)
400–500 CE
Vessel with mythological scene, Metropolitan Painter, Ceramic, slip, Maya
Vessel with mythological scene
Metropolitan Painter
600–800 CE
Plate with the god Chahk, Maya artist(s), Ceramic, slip, Maya
Plate with the god Chahk
Maya artist(s)
600-800 CE
Vessel with mythological scene, Maya artist(s), Ceramic, Maya
Vessel with mythological scene
Maya artist(s)
600–800 CE
Chahk (rain god), Maya artist(s), Limestone, Maya
Chahk (rain god)
Maya artist(s)
800–1000 CE
Pair of carved ornaments with the Maize God, Maya artist(s), Shell, Maya
Pair of carved ornaments with the Maize God
Maya artist(s)
400–700 CE

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Chinchilla Mazariegos, Oswaldo Fernando, Joanne Pillsbury, James A. Doyle, eds. 2022. Lives of the Gods: Divinity in Maya Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.