Ancient art featuring gods of the Maya showcased at the Met

Whistle with the Maize God emerging from a flower. Mexico, Late Classic period (600–900). Ceramic, pigment, H. 8 1/8in. (20.7cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Michael C. Rockefeller memorial collection, bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979. (1979.206.728)
Whistle with the Maize God emerging from a flower. Mexico, Late Classic period (600–900). Ceramic, pigment, H. 8 1/8in. (20.7cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Michael C. Rockefeller memorial collection, bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979. (1979.206.728)
Whistle with the Maize God emerging from a flower. Mexico, Late Classic period (600–900). Ceramic, pigment, H. 8 1/8in. (20.7cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Michael C. Rockefeller memorial collection, bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979. (1979.206.728)

NEW YORK — In Maya art — one of the greatest artistic traditions of the ancient Americas — the gods are depicted in all stages of life: as infants, as adults at the peak of their maturity and influence, and finally, as they age. The gods could perish, and some were born anew, providing a model of regeneration and resilience. Opening November 21 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and continuing through April 2, 2023, the exhibition Lives of the Gods: Divinity in Maya Art will bring together nearly 100 rarely seen masterpieces and recent discoveries in diverse media — from the monumental to the miniature — that depict episodes in the life cycle of the gods, from the moment of their birth to resplendent transformations as blossoming flowers or fearsome creatures of the night.

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