Chacmool - Chichen Itza by Gordon Nicolson

Chacmool - Chichen Itza by Gordon Nicolson

Chacmool - Chichen Itza

Gordon Nicolson

Please call us at 707-546-7352 or email artannex@aol.com to purchase this item.
Title

Chacmool - Chichen Itza

 
Artist
Year
c. 1940  
Technique
vintage gelatin silver print 
Image Size
16 x 19 15/16" image and paper 
Signature
artist's stamp verso 
Edition Size
not stated 
Annotations
ink titled, lower left 
Reference
 
Paper
 
State
 
Publisher
artist 
Inventory ID
19686 
Price
$600.00 
Description

An image from a series of silver-print photographs of pre-Columbian ruins by Gordon Nicolson, done around the 1940s.

A ”Chacmool” is a kind of carved sculpture from the pre-Columbian, Mesoamerican period, depicting a figure leaning back on their elbows with their heads turned 90 degrees. In the Yucatan region, as shown here in the famous, ancient Chichen Itza city, they’re thought to be the headstones of slain young warriors, and often feature bowls on their stomachs for holding offerings for the dead warrior’s journey to the next world.

This image is taken from the largest structure in Chichen Itza’s Temple of the Warriors, looking out from the top of the pyramidal temple past the Chacmool who guards it, and out into the courtyard.

Chichen Itza is a site located on the northern center of the Yucatan. Chichen Itza was one of the largest Mayan cities and it was likely to have been one of the mythical great cities, and also the most visited Mayan site on the peninsula.

When Chichen Itza was first settled it was largely agricultural. During the Central Phase of the Classic Period arts and sciences flourished. It was at this time that Chichen Itza became a religious center of increasing importance. From 800 to 925 A.D., the foundations of this magnificent civilization weakened, and the Maya abandoned their religious centers and the rural land around them. Chichen Itza was visited only to perform religious rites or bury the dead. By the 10th century A.D. they returned to Chichen Itza.

 

Please call us at 707-546-7352 or email artannex@aol.com to purchase this item.