Description
Copan, one of the most important Classic Maya sites, is renowned for the artistry of its high-relief stelae and altars and for the wealth of detail on its freestanding and architectural sculpture. In Maya Sculpture of Copan: The Iconography, internationally known Mayanist Claude-Francois Baudez provides a masterful survey of these elaborate and intriguing carved images.
In Part I, Baudez identifies and deciphers the specific motifs on each monument and shows how the elements were combined to produce meaningful iconographic messages. The architectural sculpture expresses the meaning and function of the buildings and complexes, many designed to represent the sky, earth, and underworld and to serve as stages for rituals. Photographs and drawings clarify the intricate forms.
Part II relates the iconography to the religion and politics of the city-state. Baudez traces the evolution of the motifs in relation to the history of Copan and the multiple functions of the king - his cosmic role, the continuous reference to his ancestors, and the dynastic cycles.
Sacrifice - bloodletting by the king and the sacrifice of captives - is of paramount importance. Growth and rebirth required constant offerings of blood to the earth and to the sun, to ensure its rebirth at dawn after its nocturnal journey through the underworld. The monuments give a coherent picture of Maya cosmology.
About the Author
Claude-Francois Baudez was Director of Research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris and director of the Proyecto Arqueologico Copan. He is the author of Lost Cities of the Maya and coauthor of Capture and Sacrifice at Palenque.
Book Information
ISBN 9780806148601
Author Claude-Francois Baudez
Format Paperback
Page Count 316
Imprint University of Oklahoma Press
Publisher University of Oklahoma Press
Dimensions(mm) 279mm * 216mm * 17mm
In Part I, Baudez identifies and deciphers the specific motifs on each monument and shows how the elements were combined to produce meaningful iconographic messages. The architectural sculpture expresses the meaning and function of the buildings and complexes, many designed to represent the sky, earth, and underworld and to serve as stages for rituals. Photographs and drawings clarify the intricate forms.
Part II relates the iconography to the religion and politics of the city-state. Baudez traces the evolution of the motifs in relation to the history of Copan and the multiple functions of the king - his cosmic role, the continuous reference to his ancestors, and the dynastic cycles.
Sacrifice - bloodletting by the king and the sacrifice of captives - is of paramount importance. Growth and rebirth required constant offerings of blood to the earth and to the sun, to ensure its rebirth at dawn after its nocturnal journey through the underworld. The monuments give a coherent picture of Maya cosmology.
About the Author
Claude-Francois Baudez was Director of Research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique in Paris and director of the Proyecto Arqueologico Copan. He is the author of Lost Cities of the Maya and coauthor of Capture and Sacrifice at Palenque.
Book Information
ISBN 9780806148601
Author Claude-Francois Baudez
Format Paperback
Page Count 316
Imprint University of Oklahoma Press
Publisher University of Oklahoma Press
Dimensions(mm) 279mm * 216mm * 17mm
