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PCSNY December lecture—Caitlin Earley
December 8, 2016 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
The Pre-Columbian Society of New York invites you to join us for our December lecture:
To Have and to Hold: Captive Bodies and Captive Power in Ancient Maya Art
Caitlin Earley, Jane and Morgan Whitney Fellow, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Assistant Professor, University of Nevada, Reno
Stripped, humiliated, and often sacrificed, the captive in ancient Maya art acted as a striking symbol of defeat. Captives are a central theme of Maya art in the Late Classic (CE 600–900) period, appearing on media from painted vases to carved stone monuments. However, studies of Maya art often focus on captors—usually victorious rulers—rather than the captives that cower beneath them. In this paper, based on a large-scale study of captive imagery in Mesoamerican art, I suggest that captives are not just icons of shame and dishonor, but instead wield potent rhetorical power of their own. Exploring depictions of captives from the western Maya area, this talk shines new light on the relationship between kings and captives, the role of captives in local and wide-ranging political narratives, and the ability of the human body to signify in Pre-Columbian art.
Thursday, December 8, 2016
6 PM in the Lecture Hall
The Institute of Fine Arts
1 East 78th Street
Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. RSVP Institute of Fine Arts
Followed by a reception with wine and cheese in the Loeb Room
Stripped, humiliated, and often sacrificed, the captive in ancient Maya art acted as a striking symbol of defeat. Captives are a central theme of Maya art in the Late Classic (CE 600–900) period, appearing on media from painted vases to carved stone monuments. However, studies of Maya art often focus on captors—usually victorious rulers—rather than the captives that cower beneath them. In this paper, based on a large-scale study of captive imagery in Mesoamerican art, I suggest that captives are not just icons of shame and dishonor, but instead wield potent rhetorical power of their own. Exploring depictions of captives from the western Maya area, this talk shines new light on the relationship between kings and captives, the role of captives in local and wide-ranging political narratives, and the ability of the human body to signify in Pre-Columbian art.