Mexica monoliths in HD

[John F. Schwaller]

http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=46036

MEXICO CITY.- INAH’s web page now offers details of 3 emblematic Mexica
sculptures: Coyolxauhqui, Tlaltecuhtli and the Sun Stone (Piedra del Sol)
can be admired on-line in an interactive site created by the National
Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

The site named Historia en piedra. Tres monolitos Mexicas (History in
Stone. Three Mexica Monoliths), available here,
http://paseos.cultura-inah.gob.mx/monolitos/
 presents high resolution images, video and animation that illustrate
studies conducted by INAH specialists dedicated to archaeology and
restoration.

Another interactive page related to Mexican art is already on-line, the
mural painting Retablo de la Independencia created by Mexican artist Juan
O´Gorman, here.

More than 1,500 photographs of the 3 Mexica monumental sculptures allow
appreciating the details of each element carved on the stone. These images
are displayed in layers that overlap, helping users to capture colors and
textures.

A zenithal image of each piece is another feature at the site that gives a
perspective that would be hard to reach in the museums of Templo Mayor and
National of Anthropology to the naked eye.

When one of the pieces is selected, information such as the year of
creation, dimensions, date of finding and studies conducted on it
displays. The button “Descripcion” shows information provided by
specialists, who in 18 videos describe the importance of each piece.

Specialists that contributed in this INAH effort are archaeologists
Bertina Olmedo Vera, curator of the Mexica Hall at the National Museum of
Anthropology; Fernando Carrizosa Monfort, chief of the Curatorial
Department at Templo Mayor Museum, and Ximena Chavez Balderas, part of the
Templo Mayor Project. Restorer Maria Barajas Rocha, chief of the
Restoration Department at Templo Mayor Museum, also participated.

At the Tlaltecuhtli section, users can learn about the symbolism that the
monolith created between 1501 and 1521 had to Mexicas, as a terrestrial
deity, as well as information of the associated offerings and the
restoration processes conducted.

Regarding the Sun Stone, also known as Aztec Calendar dated approximately
in 1521, an iconographic analysis is available. The great amount of
carvings illustrates fundamental concepts of Mexica world view.

Finally, the image of the impressive lunar goddess Coyolxauhqui, carved
between 1469 and 1481, offers an explanation of its finding, mythology,
symbolism and relation with other feminine deities, as well as of the
recovery of its color by restorers.

The Aztec Calendar Stone



Art of MesoAmerica






-- 
John F. Schwaller
President,
SUNY Potsdam
44 Pierrepont Ave.
Potsdam, NY  13676
schwallr at potsdam.edu


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