Joanne Pillsbury - Böcker

Published in Collaboration with the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of ArtPrior to the arrival of Europeans in the first half of the sixteenth century, Andean peoples had no tradition of writing. For this reason, texts written by early modern European chroniclers and later Andean authors are a critical source of information on the Andes. This landmark three-volume reference work inventories the principal sources useful for the study of the region - particularly its Prehispanic and vice-regal cultures - covering relevant texts from the sixteenth through the nineteenth century. With written contributions by 122 scholars from nineteen countries and amply illustrated with drawings, engravings, photographs, and maps, the Guide offers new perspectives on key works and reflects substantial changes in historical and cultural studies of the past fifty years.The first volume contains twenty-nine essays about the origin and nature of the sources, focusing on recent research and interpretations. The subjects covered range from Andean knotted-string records and colonial bookmaking to legal affairs and natural history. The essays also address topics relatively new to Andean studies, such as popular drama, travel accounts, and the influence of the classical tradition in the Andes.Volumes 2 and 3 list specific authors alphabetically and discuss their texts. The entries contain such information as biographical data, locations of manuscripts, publication history, translations, and references to secondary literature.The Guide is an indispensable research tool for scholars and students of pre-Columbian and colonial Andean studies, particularly in anthropology, archaeology, religious studies, history, and art history. It underscores the cultural complexities of the European presence in the Andean region and helps readers gain a deeper understanding of the varied purposes and perspectives of these records.

From the first millennium B.C. until the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century, artists from across the ancient Americas created small-scale architectural effigies to be placed in the tombs of important individuals. These works in stone, ceramic, wood, and metal range from highly abstracted, minimalist representations of temples and houses to elaborate complexes populated with figures, conveying a rich sense of ancient ritual and daily life. Although described as models, these effigies were created not so much as reflections or prototypes of existing structures, but rather as critical, conceptual components of funerary practice and beliefs about an afterlife.   Design for Eternity is the first publication in English to explore these architectural works, providing new insights into ancient American design and how it reflected the practices of daily life. The vivid illustrations and texts focus on architectural representation, as well as the role these intriguing sculptures played in mediating relationships among the living, the dead, and the divine.   Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art(10/26/15–09/18/16)

This engaging exploration of the Maya pantheon introduces readers to the complex stories of Mesoamerican divinity through the stunning carvings, ceramics, and metalwork of the Classic period  Focusing on the period between A.D. 250 and 900, Lives of the Gods reveals that ancient Maya artists evoked a pantheon as rich and complex as the more familiar Greco-Roman, Hindu-Buddhist, and Egyptian deities. The authors show how this powerful cosmology informed some of the greatest creative achievements of Maya civilization, represented here from the monumental to the miniature through more than 140 works in jade, stone, and clay. Thematic chapters supported by new scholarship on recent archaeological discoveries detail the different types of gods and their domains, the role of the divine in the lives of the ancient Maya, and the continuation of these traditions from the colonial period through the present day. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Distributed by Yale University PressExhibition Schedule:The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York(November 21, 2022–April 2, 2023)  Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX(May 7–September 3, 2023)