"Worldviews: Maya Ceramics from the Palmer Collection"

"Worldviews: Maya Ceramics from the Palmer Collection" is an exhibit of 35 decorated ceramic vases and 10 carved jade and stone pieces made by artisans of the Maya civilization of Mexico and Central America more than 1000 years ago. The Maya civilization is known for its monumental pyramids and palaces, complex religious beliefs, accurate calendar, and hieroglyphic writing system. Many of these and other aspects of the beliefs and lives of the ancient Maya appear on the surfaces of painted and carved ceramic vases. The exhibit draws from the Palmer Collection, one of the premier collections of pre-Columbian art in the United States, to reveal aspects of the history of the ancestors of people living in Mexico, Central America (and North Carolina) today. The exhibit features Spanish and English text and labels.

Worldviews and associated programs are made possible by a grant from the North Carolina Humanities Council, a state-based program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The corporate sponsor is Triad Plastics Supply, Inc.. Sponsors at Wake Forest University are the Dean of the College; the Office of Multicultural Affairs; the Departments of Anthropology, Art, History, Religion, and Romance Languages; the Charlotte and Philip Hanes Art Gallery; the Wake Forest Divinity School; and the Center for International Studies. This exhibit is toured by the Hudson Museum at the University of Maine.

Click here to see an on-line version of the exhibit.