olmec carved stone heads on display in us

“ The Monumental Stelae of Aksum (3rd–4th Century).” (October 2000)ĭepartment of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. 8000 B.C.) Cave Stones.” (October 2000)ĭepartment of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ African Rock Art: The Coldstream Stone.” (October 2000)ĭepartment of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ African Rock Art: Tassili-n-Ajjer (?8000 B.C.–?).” (October 2000)ĭepartment of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ African Rock Art.” (October 2000)ĭepartment of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Poverty Point (2000–1000 B.C.).” (October 2003)ĭepartment of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Indian Knoll (3000–2000 B.C.).” (October 2003)ĭepartment of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Hopewell (1–400 A.D.).” (October 2002)ĭepartment of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Valdivia Figurines.” (October 2004)ĭepartment of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Teotihuacan: Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon.” (October 2001)ĭepartment of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Teotihuacan: Mural Painting.” (October 2001)ĭepartment of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Teotihuacan: Ciudadela.” (October 2001)ĭepartment of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Teotihuacan.” (October 2001)ĭepartment of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Monte Albán: Stone Sculpture.” (October 2001)ĭepartment of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Monte Albán: Sacred Architecture.” (October 2001)ĭepartment of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ Monte Albán.” (October 2001)ĭepartment of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. “ La Venta: Sacred Architecture.” (October 2001)ĭepartment of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas.

Additional Essays by Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americasĭepartment of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2004. Mexico City: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 1984. Princeton: Princeton University Art Museum, 1995.įuente, Beatriz de la. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1996.Ĭoe, Michael D., et al. (October 2001) Further Readingīenson, Elizabeth P., and Beatriz de la Fuente, eds. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. “La Venta: Stone Sculpture.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The motifs surrounding the throne’s upper band recall jaguars and mythical dragons, powerful images in Olmec ideology.ĭepartment of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. The rope winds around the base of the throne to a bound captive. A ruler, he wears an eagle headdress establishing his ability to emulate predators of the sky, and he holds a rope in his hands. In La Venta Altar 4, a carved figure emerges from the niche, which symbolizes a cave. The thrones, identified also as altars, often have a large central niche carved in the base. The stelae depict rulers in elaborate ritual garb, often surrounded by “flying” figures-perhaps depictions of ancestors conjured in the ruler’s visions. In addition to the three-dimensional colossal heads, Olmec sculptors carved stelae and thrones with a mixture of low- and high-relief techniques. Complex A, in particular, was the scene of four construction phases marked by the use of local clays and sands in a variety of colors. The site’s ceremonial architecture is notable for use of local materials. La Venta’s rulers oversaw a burgeoning economy that included trade in exotic materials such as greenstones, much of which was buried in the elaborate offerings of Complex A. Distinct headdresses adorn each head, underscoring their different personalities. These heads, striking in their individuality, are thought to depict the ancient rulers.

The Olmec transported these massive basalt boulders by means of the region’s meandering rivers, where they were used for thrones, altars, stelae, and colossal heads. La Venta’s large stone sculpture was made of basalt from the Tuxtla Mountains far to the north.

Olmec carved stone heads on display in us