It is believed that the same people who migrated from Asia to North America continued their southward movement in the new land until they ultimately settled Central and South America as well. The natives of Brazil, for example, are also Native Americans. Just as Native Americans in the United States differed in their languages, clothing, customs and art depending on the part of the country they settled in (see adjacent North American Indian Gallery) the same is true for those that continued into Mexico, Central America and South America. Indeed, certain of these groups such as the Maya and Aztec had attained very advanced cultures long before the arrival of Columbus.

Given their differences in style and form, the one commonality that holds true for native art throughout these regions is function. The objects were made for religious or ritual purposes, for practical use, or for personal adornment. To be sure, the objects were appreciated for their beauty and were, in fact, signifiers of their ideals. Note, for example, the evidence of deliberately deformed skulls in the series of Toltec heads and the long and pronounced noses found on others. Offerings to the various gods appear to be the most frequent intention for these works. In fact, artistic products without religious significance were virtually unknown to the natives of these regions.

Artists rarely signed their works. They were no more than servants to society. It is only the style of representation and the technique of execution that gives clues as to where and when a work was done.

Mexico
The native people of Mexico consisted of groups that include the Zapotec, Toltec and Aztec in the North and the Maya, who were located primarily in the southern part of the country. Each of these groups is represented with works in this gallery.

Highlights from the pre-Columbian objects of Mexican origin include a gray clay Zapotec Funeral Urn (c. 250-700 A.D.) and a variety of figure heads and divinities from the Toltec and Aztec cultures. These objects were utilized for the respective cultures' ceremonies, most of which were funerary. Burying and honoring dead ancestors was the most common ceremonial activity of the pre-Columbian people. The Zapotec urn depicts the Rain God, Cocijo, while the Toltec and Aztec figures represent various gods, priests, and warriors.

The Michoacán animal and human masks in the Mexican collection are also noteworthy. Vividly representational, the masks are carved of wood and painted. There are also two Aztec masks, which were probably used by priests and those who sought to capture the spiritual power of a venerated ancestor.

Central America
Objects form the Central American countries Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, and Honduras are further demonstrations of the form and technique of this Art.

The Maya culture, is also represented with objects in the Mexican collection. The Maya lived in Guatemala and Honduras, as well as the southern regions of Mexico. Often considered the "Greeks of the New World" because of their highly developed civilization, a sample of their architectural prowess can be found in the model of the grand Temple II at Tikal, Guatemala.

One of the highlights of the collection is the Maya Ceremonial Incense Burner (Incensario) from Guatemala. This pre-Columbian piece was made by the Quiché, the dominant Maya group of South central Guatemala, circa 800 A.D. One of the oldest and largest objects in the Mexican, Central & South American collection, the unglazed pottery piece was most likely used to burn incense at public gatherings involving funerary practices.

The Maya's extraordinary sense of realism is found in their sculptural figures such as the Priest or Warrior Head from Copán, Honduras and paintings of social life. Their imagination was given full expression in their creation of fictitious creatures and ornamental motifs as on the Polychrome Jar. There are excellent examples of Costa Rican pottery in the Central American collection. Since there was no wheel in the New World, all pottery was made by modeling, molding, or the coil method. Pottery ornamentation is stylized, whimsical, and usually representational.

The two principal regions in pre-Columbian America where jade or jadeite was used extensively were in Mexico (Toltec/Aztec) and Costa Rica (Maya). It was used to carve distinctive functional objects that combined human and animal imagery such as weapons and tools, and articles of personal ornament: amulets, beads, badges of rank, ear ornaments and pendants. (for example, the Jaguar Head Pendant recovered at Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico.)

South America
The works of the indigenous people throughout South America round out the Mexican, Central & South American collection. The Inca are among the most well-known native cultures of South America. Located in Peru and Chile, this ancient civilization excelled at works made of copper, silver, gold and ceramics. The "stirrup handle" vase and vases with two spouts are particularly noteworthy as are their huacos or funerary vases incorporating the human figure. South American textiles are another area of high artistic achievement. Inca weavers knew practically every technique known to the modern textile manufacturer, and many of their works are unsurpassed in fineness and beauty. Notice the similarities to the Greek fret pattern - a motif much in evidence throughout the Americas.

Inca textiles were woven by women using small backdrop looms. The process of weaving was a religious function, especially when the cloths were to be used as grave offerings and for wrapping the dead. The textiles reveal the vigor of their design, their glowing colors and free use of stylized geometric motifs. Warriors, animals, fish, and birds (symbols of fertility) are common Inca textile subjects.

Along with the nearly unparalleled South American textiles are the remarkable featherwork. Since many of the birds of South America are brilliantly colored, artists took advantage of this attribute and created multi-hued ceremonial headdresses, pectoral vests, and other forms of body decoration. An especially intricate Iridescent Headdress from Ecuador has, instead of bright feathers, six strands of beetle wings.

Other remarkable examples from South America are the two Shrunken Heads (tsantas) from the Jívaro culture of Ecuador. Shrunken heads are typical, but not solely produced by the Jívaro. The skin is cut and removed from the skull which is discarded, the lips and eyes are pinned or sewed together, and the skin is boiled with an astringent plant that shrinks it and fixes the hair. It is further reduced to about the size of an orange by successively placing hot stones and sand inside it; then it is packed, smoked, resewn, polished, and kept in a jar. These heads served as trophies of war and were sometimes worn as souvenirs of the slain enemy by the warriors on ceremonial belts. Although the practice of taking heads has been banned, an illicit market exists.

Please note, paintings, objects and artists represented on the website may not be on view at all times.

Ronald C. Roth Director & CEO