(soft piano)
- [Narrator] We're in the Maya galleries
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art looking at
a spectacular cup.
It's ceramic and it dates to the Eighth Century.
- [Man] This is a drinking cup that likely
was part of the vessels that were used in feasting
at a royal ancient Maya ceremony and then placed
in the tomb of a deceased ruler.
- [Narrator] This comes from the classic period.
- [Man] We call it that because it was the pinnacle
of ancient construction of monumental buildings
and the time from which we have the most hieroglyphic texts.
- [Narrator] And this particular cup is such a
spectacular example of the very fine calligraphic art
that is associated with classic Maya.
- [Man] We called this style the codex style.
Codex is the term we use for the Maya books,
which were screenfold bark paper or hide documents
that were mostly destroyed by the Spanish
in the 16th century but, the four that still exists
are painted in this grayscale, calligraphic style
with washes and frames of red color and other
polychrome applications.
- [Narrator] So these cups are especially important
since so few codex survive.
- [Man] We have to infer a lot of the Maya narrative
tales from ceramic vessels.
- [Narrator] So this is not only a register
of the mythology, but it was an object
that would've actively been used.
- [Man] Because it's a cylinder, it invites the user
to turn the vessel around at a close view
to see all the characters and texts.
During a feast or during a ceremony, the viewer or user
would be invited to tell the tale that's represented
in this mythological scene.
- [Narrator] I'm not sure that I would say that
there's a front, but one of the most significant figures
is a rain God who takes up almost
the entire height of the cup.
- [Man] This rain God is a youthful version
of the deity we know by the hieroglyphic name of Chahk
and he is present in very early Maya art and it was
very important into the Colonial period.
The deity of falling water, of course,
in an area where there's a pronounced dry and rainy season
was very important.
- [Narrator] What strikes me is how animated he is.
He raises up his right leg, his left arm,
and he seems to almost be dancing.
- [Man] The pose where the heel is lifted,
one leg is off the ground, he's throwing an ax back
behind him with his right hand and he holds
an enament stone in his left hand, which he's raising.
This is most likely associated with a dance or ceremony
that could be a representation of combat.
- [Narrator] His youth is so beautifully represented
in that noble profile and if you look closely,
you can see that he's got very large ear spools.
- [Man] The rain God is often depicted with
Spondylus shell ear spools which reinforces and underscores
his role in fertility related to watery environments.
The deity's often portrayed with kind of wild hair
or watery vegetation sprouting from it's head
and that's part of this unpredictability of rain
and the ax is symbolic of lightning.
- [Narrator] And if you look very closely
just under his thighs and along the back of his calves,
you can see a scaly motif that is meant to represent
a reptilian quality.
- [Man] This is also repeated on the being
in front of him and it's to again, evoke this shimmery,
watery realm.
- [Narrator] Let's take a peak at that rather extraordinary
creature in front because this figure is challenging.
- [Man] It is the representation of a mountain
known in the hieroglyphic inscriptions as witz
and it is in profile.
The creature's head is an expanded hieroglyph
for stone itself.
- [Narrator] And those half circles of dots are a
hieroglyphic reference to that stony quality.
- [Man] And the great bunch markings as their known
are also referencing the surface of the stone.
- [Narrator] Help me untangle the really complicated
imagery on the left side of this mountain creature.
- [Man] So, the mountain creature's upper lip
reaches up and curls towards the rain God
and from it's mouth is emanating this smoky,
watery essence that is shown by the wash.
- [Narrator] Reaching down is a kind of emanation,
almost like a tongue coming out of the mouth.
- [Man] Yes, this could be part of the mountain
creature's mouth or it could be representing liquid
that's flowing from it's mouth.
- [Narrator] But probably my favorite part of this cup
is the infant that lies on the mountain creature.
- [Man] So, this is affectionately known as the baby jaguar.
It's an infant deity, which is a theme we see
across Mesoamerica shown with a supernatural face
and a jaguar tail and hands and feet.
This posture of reclining is often seen when
the artist is evoking birth or rebirth.
So, this scene is interpreted as the birth
of the baby jaguar.
- [Narrator] This makes a lot of sense when we look at
the figure to the right of the baby.
This figure stands in sharp contrast to the rain God
at the left.
- [Man] This is a skinny, skeletal, spindly death God
that's shown with a skeletal head and a lot of
interesting attributes including extruded eyeballs
that decorate his skull.
- [Narrator] He's meant to represent decay
and he's a perfect opposite to the vitality of the rain God.
- [Man] When we have the opposing forces of rain
and fertility and life opposite death and decay
and the baby jaguar is born in between,
it's that necessary interaction of rain
and decayed material to produce the new growth
or new individual.
- [Narrator] But this God of death does not show up alone.
He's got with him two other creatures.
There's a wonderful dog-like figure below
and a firefly above.
- [Man] The firefly probably signifies that this event
may take place at night.
The firefly holds in his left hand a torch,
which for the Maya was an imitation of the bioluminescence
of the actual fireflies.
- [Narrator] And we know that light itself was an
important indicator of the divine and so, one can imagine
the important role that a firefly would play.
- [Man] They are shown very often in scenes of
mythological importance across other painted vessels.
- [Narrator] Just above the baby jaguar are glyphs
and in many cases, glyphs can help orient us
in terms of the mythology that's being presented.
- [Man] Unfortunately, this vessel has a text
that's a little bit opaque.
The artist chose to create a date that is not real.
We think that the artist was trying to signify
that this event was happening in supernatural time,
not in human time.
- [Narrator] Very much the way a children's book might say,
"In a land far, far away."
- [Man] Exactly and the Maya also sometimes marked vessels
by their particular owners, but this one is very
non-specific.
- [Narrator] The calligraphy itself is spectacular.
There is a kind of energy that's represented
for all of these figures that makes this cup
a joy to look at.
(upbeat jazzy piano)