This masterpiece consists of one of the more
complicated compositions depicted in Mayan art.
The more complicated compositions include
three or more actors (here we have seven!) plus
paraphernalia pertinent to the event. The artist
has utilized the accompanying hieroglyphic text
not only for recording the depicted scene, but
also as a compositional device to segment the
pictorial field. The ritualized food function of
vessels in the past has now been superseded by
the artistic, social and political use. Whimsical
and dramatic, there are seven actors richly
dressed in ceremonial garments. The hand
positions have definite characteristics and their
elbows are reaching upward, forward, high and
low. These motions are carefully and
intentionally depicted by the artist. We can
assume it is a ritual dance. The artist has
transcended the use of two-dimensional
painting. There is a feeling of flesh and
movement. Due to one's perception, the ritual
dance may seem to "come alive" through the
movements of the characters. One character has
a bird mask on and the opposite has a jaguar
mask on. The animals are symbolic of the
cosmological beliefs that underlie the Mayan
civilization. In mythology, animals can be
sentient beings who possess speech, thought
and supernatural powers. Through the use of the
mask, the shaman or leader not only becomes
the animal, he is the animal and thus possesses
supernatural powers. This ritual most probably
took place in the palace for the nobility to
participate and the commoners to look on from a
distance. We are drawn again and again to this
magical composition, compelled to further enrich
"the dance" of our own lives.
- (PF.3100)
|
