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"Moon Goddess"
Sculptor: Jenelle Armstrong Byrd
Edition: Open
Medium: Clay model for Bronze
Size: About 8" high
Mayan Moon Goddess
---Recently, in
the steaming Guatemalan jungle, a magnificent limestone carving from the
600-900 AD period was discovered. Archeologists believe it to have been
the back of a royal throne. This throne back depicts three figures. One
is a female sitting cross-legged and reaching out to touch a mythical
animal- like creature. The third is an authoritative looking male. The
man and woman wear elaborate headdresses of feathers interwoven with their
hair. The Moon Goddess represented fertility in the Mayan Culture.
My sculpture is inspired by the figure on the limestone bas-relief, but
taken to a higher level of anatomical modeling. Her costume, a jaguar
skin skirt and wide silver cuffs, her markedly sloped and tattooed
forehead, and her form are a composite of paintings and sculpture from the
period. I seated her on a throne with no back, but with a few
“Hieroglyphics” carved on its side. The meanings of the symbols are under
study. Ah, the mysteries of the Mayans! --- JAB
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