Golden kingdoms : luxury arts in the ancient Americas
Joanne Pillsbury (Editor), Timothy F. Potts (Editor), Kim N. Richter (Editor), J. Paul Getty Museum (Host institution, Issuing body), Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.) (Host institution), Getty Research Institute (Issuing body), Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA (Project)
"Golden Kingdoms provides a sweeping overview of the luxury arts in ancient America from the second millennium BC to the Spanish Conquest in the sixteenth century. Wroght with extraordinary skill from gold, silver, jade, turquoise, shell, textile, and feathers, the spectacular imagery created by court artists played a central role in the royal regalia and sacred rituals that validated imperial power in Pre-Columbian kingdoms from the Andes in the south to Mexico in the north. Reserved for the religious and political elites of the Olmecs, Maya, Chimú, Moche, Aztecs, and other peoples, many of these objects were traded over hundreds of miles and cherished for centuries as heirlooms, often ending up as dedications in temples and sacred natural wells (cenotes), or as burial goods for the afterlife. Based on the latest archaeological excavations and scholarship, this study provides a radical reinterpretation of this fscinating material that reflects the value system of the indigenous cultures themselves. Many of the objects have never before left their countries of origin."--Back cover of jacket
Print Book, English, 2017
The J. Paul Getty Museum : The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, CA, 2017