Turquoise Mosaics from Mexico

Turquoise Mosaics from Mexico PDF Author: Colin McEwan
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISBN: 9780822339243
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 104

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Book Description
The nine turquoise mosaics from Mexico are some the most striking pieces in the collections of the British Museum. Among the few surviving such artifacts, these exquisite objects include two masks, a shield, a knife, a helmet, a double-headed serpent, a mosaic on a human skull, a jaguar, and an animal head. They all originate from the Mixtec and Aztec civilizations first encountered by Europeans during the Spanish conquest in the early sixteenth century. The mosaics have long excited admiration for their masterful blend of technical skill and artistry and fascination regarding their association with ritual and ceremony. Only recently though, have scientific investigations undertaken by the British Museum dramatically advanced knowledge of the mosaics by characterizing, for the first time, the variety of natural materials that were used to create them. Illustrated with more than 160 color images, this book describes the recent scientific findings about the mosaics in detail, revealing them to be rich repositories of information about ancient Mexico. The materials used to construct the mosaics demonstrate their makers' deep knowledge of the natural world and its resources. The effort that would have been involved in procuring the materials testifies to the mosaics' value and significance in a society imbued with myths and religious beliefs. The British Museum's analyses have provided evidence of the way that the materials were prepared and assembled, the tools used, and the choices that were made by artisans. In addition, by drawing on historical accounts including early codices, as well as recent archaeological discoveries, specialists have learned more about the place of the mosaics in ancient Mexican culture. Filled with information about the religion, art, and natural and cultural history as well as the extraordinary ability of modern science to enable detailed insight into past eras, Turquoise Mosaics from Mexico offers an overview of the production, utilization, and eventual fate of these beautiful and mysterious objects.

Turquoise Mosaics from Mexico

Turquoise Mosaics from Mexico PDF Author: Colin McEwan
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISBN: 9780822339243
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 104

Get Book

Book Description
The nine turquoise mosaics from Mexico are some the most striking pieces in the collections of the British Museum. Among the few surviving such artifacts, these exquisite objects include two masks, a shield, a knife, a helmet, a double-headed serpent, a mosaic on a human skull, a jaguar, and an animal head. They all originate from the Mixtec and Aztec civilizations first encountered by Europeans during the Spanish conquest in the early sixteenth century. The mosaics have long excited admiration for their masterful blend of technical skill and artistry and fascination regarding their association with ritual and ceremony. Only recently though, have scientific investigations undertaken by the British Museum dramatically advanced knowledge of the mosaics by characterizing, for the first time, the variety of natural materials that were used to create them. Illustrated with more than 160 color images, this book describes the recent scientific findings about the mosaics in detail, revealing them to be rich repositories of information about ancient Mexico. The materials used to construct the mosaics demonstrate their makers' deep knowledge of the natural world and its resources. The effort that would have been involved in procuring the materials testifies to the mosaics' value and significance in a society imbued with myths and religious beliefs. The British Museum's analyses have provided evidence of the way that the materials were prepared and assembled, the tools used, and the choices that were made by artisans. In addition, by drawing on historical accounts including early codices, as well as recent archaeological discoveries, specialists have learned more about the place of the mosaics in ancient Mexican culture. Filled with information about the religion, art, and natural and cultural history as well as the extraordinary ability of modern science to enable detailed insight into past eras, Turquoise Mosaics from Mexico offers an overview of the production, utilization, and eventual fate of these beautiful and mysterious objects.

Turquoise Mosaics from Mexico

Turquoise Mosaics from Mexico PDF Author: Elizabeth Carmichael
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description


Turquois Mosaic Art in Ancient Mexico; Vol. 6

Turquois Mosaic Art in Ancient Mexico; Vol. 6 PDF Author: Marshall H (Marshall Howard) Saville
Publisher: Legare Street Press
ISBN: 9781013572319
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Turquois Mosaic Art in Ancient Mexico

Turquois Mosaic Art in Ancient Mexico PDF Author: Marshall Howard Saville
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description


Mosaics in the Medieval World

Mosaics in the Medieval World PDF Author: Liz James
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108508596
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 1748

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Book Description
In this book, Liz James offers a comprehensive history of wall mosaics produced in the European and Islamic middle ages. Taking into account a wide range of issues, including style and iconography, technique and material, and function and patronage, she examines mosaics within their historical context. She asks why the mosaic was such a popular medium and considers how mosaics work as historical 'documents' that tell us about attitudes and beliefs in the medieval world. The book is divided into two part. Part I explores the technical aspects of mosaics, including glass production, labour and materials, and costs. In Part II, James provides a chronological history of mosaics, charting the low and high points of mosaic art up until its abrupt end in the late middle ages. Written in a clear and engaging style, her book will serve as an essential resource for scholars and students of medieval mosaics.

Golden Kingdoms

Golden Kingdoms PDF Author: Joanne Pillsbury
Publisher: Getty Publications
ISBN: 1606065483
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 331

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Book Description
This volume accompanies a major international loan exhibition featuring more than three hundred works of art, many rarely or never before seen in the United States. It traces the development of gold working and other luxury arts in the Americas from antiquity until the arrival of Europeans in the early sixteenth century. Presenting spectacular works from recent excavations in Peru, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Mexico, this exhibition focuses on specific places and times—crucibles of innovation—where artistic exchange, rivalry, and creativity led to the production of some of the greatest works of art known from the ancient Americas. The book and exhibition explore not only artistic practices but also the historical, cultural, social, and political conditions in which luxury arts were produced and circulated, alongside their religious meanings and ritual functions. Golden Kingdoms creates new understandings of ancient American art through a thematic exploration of indigenous ideas of value and luxury. Central to the book is the idea of the exchange of materials and ideas across regions and across time: works of great value would often be transported over long distances, or passed down over generations, in both cases attracting new audiences and inspiring new artists. The idea of exchange is at the intellectual heart of this volume, researched and written by twenty scholars based in the United States and Latin America.

Ancient Nahuatl Poetry

Ancient Nahuatl Poetry PDF Author: Daniel Garrison Brinton
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Aztec language
Languages : en
Pages : 198

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Book Description


Children of the Plumed Serpent

Children of the Plumed Serpent PDF Author: Virginia M. Fields
Publisher: Scala Arts Publishers Incorporated
ISBN: 9781857597417
Category : Indian art
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Published on the occasion of an exhibition held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Apr. 1-July 1, 2012 and at the Dallas Museum of Art, July 29-Nov. 25, 2012.

Social Memory and State Formation in Early China

Social Memory and State Formation in Early China PDF Author: Min Li
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107141451
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 587

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Book Description
A thought-provoking book on the archaeology of power, knowledge, social memory, and the emergence of classical tradition in early China.

State and Cosmos in the Art of Tenochtitlan

State and Cosmos in the Art of Tenochtitlan PDF Author: Richard F. Townsend
Publisher: Dumbarton Oaks
ISBN: 9780884020837
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 84

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Book Description
Townsend offers an interpretation of Mexica monumental art by identifying three interrelated themes: the conception of the universe as sacred structure, the correspondence of the social order and the territory of the nation with the cosmic structure, and the representation of Tenochtitlan as historically legitimate successor to past civilization.