Picture Worlds: Storytelling on Greek, Moche, and Maya Pottery

This abundantly illustrated volume is the first to explore the painted pottery of the ancient Greek, Moche, and Maya cultures side by side. Satyrs and sphinxes, violent legumes, and a dancing maize deity figure in the stories painted on the pottery produced by the ancient Greek, Moche, and Maya cultures, respectively. Picture Worlds is the first book to examine the elaborately decorated terracotta vessels of these three distinct civilizations. Although the cultures were separated by space and time, they all employed pottery as a way to tell stories, explain the world, and illustrate core myths and beliefs. Each of these painted pots is a picture world. But why did these communities reach for pottery as a primary method of visual communication? How were the vessels produced and used? In this book, experts offer introductions to the civilizations, exploring these foundational questions and examining the painted imagery. Readers will be rewarded with a better understanding of each of these ancient societies, fascinating insights into their cultural commonalities and differences, and fresh perspectives on image making and storytelling, practices that remain vibrant to this day. This volume is published to accompany an exhibition on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa from April 10 to July 29, 2024, and at the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University from September 14 to December 15, 2024. Cover Title Page Copyright Page Contents Page CONTRIBUTORS DIRECTOR’S FOREWORD ACKNOWLEDGMENTS INTRODUCTION MODERN HISTORIES OF ANCIENT VASES MAKERS AND USERS GREEK ANCIENT GREECE, 700–323 BCE: AN OVERVIEW GREEK PAINTED POTTERY: PRODUCTION AND USE ATHENIAN FIGURED POTTERY AT HOME AND ABROAD MOCHE THE MOCHE, 200–850 CE: AN OVERVIEW MOCHE CERAMICS: ARTISTS, WORKSHOPS, AND TECHNIQUES USES AND USERS OF MOCHE PAINTED VESSELS THE WARRIOR DUCK OF HUACAS DE MOCHE: FUNERARY RITUALS AND THE MASTERY OF MOCHE POTTERS MAYA THE LATE CLASSIC MAYA, 550–850 CE: AN OVERVIEW MAYA VASE PRODUCTION AND USE MAYA GIFT GIVING STORIES AND PICTURES UNDERSTANDING THE IMAGERY THE TROJAN WAR SATYRS THE ADVENTURES OF WRINKLE FACE VIOLENT LEGUMES THE JOURNEY OF THE MAYA MAIZE GOD WAYOB AS SYMBOLS OF COLLECTIVE IDENTITY AND POWER PLATES PLATE LIST POSTSCRIPT BIBLIOGRAPHY ILLUSTRATION CREDITS INDEX Back Cover