Level 4, American Art
This portrait of George Washington is modeled after Roman portrait sculptures designed to commemorate great ancestors. Washington was the “Father of his Country,” much as the Egyptian pharaoh was to his people.
Jean-Antoine Houdon
(French, 1741–1828)
George Washington, c. 1786
Painted plaster
Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Ronald E. Fritz, 1980.113
Level 4, Ancient Art of the Americas
A distinguished Maya woman is also represented in terms of ritual, lineage, and ceremony. Elaborate jade ornaments link her to the Maya maize god. Her scepter and headdress feature the profile head of the god K’awil, patron of royal lineages. She is performing a religious ceremony. This parallels Egyptian scenes like Queen Nefertiti worshiping the Aten sun disc with King Akhenaten.
Wall panel depicting Lady Bolon-Ka’an in ritual dress
Mexico: southern Maya lowlands, state of Tabasco, Pomoná, Maya culture
Late Classic period, c. A.D. 790
Limestone, stucco, and paint
Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. James H. Clark, 1968.39.FA
Level 4, Ancient Art of the Americas
This splendid mantle was part of an array of textiles in which bodies were wrapped and buried in ancient Peru. Very likely the richly embroidered cloths were worn in life by the deceased person, probably an aristocratic man. The mantle was the finest of the garments and is ornamented with bird figures with outstretched wings. This is an interesting parallel to the burial textiles and images of royal and divine clothing found in the King Tut exhibition.
Mantle with condors
Peru: south coast, Paracas culture
Late Horizon–Early Intermediate Period, c. 300–100 B.C.
Camelid fiber
Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., in memory of John O’Boyle, 1972.4.McD
Level 4, Ancient Art of the Americas
These gold drinking vessels were found in a Peruvian tomb. They were probably used in life for drinking maize beer and then were buried with the dead for use in the afterlife, like gold objects found in Egyptian tombs. The motifs on the vessels include the Sicán Lord, stylized birds, and toads or frogs.
Group of beakers
Peru: north coast, Batán Grande area, Sicán culture
A.D. 900–1100
Gold
Dallas Museum of Art, The Nora and John Wise Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jake L. Hamon, the Eugene McDermott Family, Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, and Mr. and Mrs. John D. Murchison
Level 4, Ancient Art of the Americas
This mask was found in a tomb and represents a religious figure called the Sicán Lord. Like the Egyptians, powerful pre-Columbian rulers were often buried with elaborate ceremonial regalia. The use of gold and copper here parallels the use of gold, precious stones, and faience in Egyptian funerary art.
Ceremonial mask
Peru: north coast, Lambayeque region, La Leche Valley, Batán Grande, Sicán culture
Middle Sicán period, A.D. 900–1100
Gold, copper, and paint
Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., 1969.1.McD
Level 4, Ancient Art of the Americas
The Olmec specialized in portraits of rulers, which gave immortality to these powerful people. The sculpture might have been worn as a mask in the way that funerary masks were buried with the dead person in Egypt. Traces of burning in the color of the stone may indicate ritual cremation.
Mask
Mexico: state of Tabasco, Río Pesquero, Gulf Coast Olmec culture
Middle Formative period, c. 900–500 B.C.
Jadeite
Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene McDermott and the Eugene McDermott Foundation and Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated, 1973.17
Level 4, American Art
This early 18th-century Bolivian religious painting depicts the Madonna and the baby Jesus and celebrates the Catholic Feast of the Rosary (October 7). Madonna and Child are surrounded by jeweled rosaries and angelic putti. The Madonna’s cloak is heavily overlaid with gold leaf. In the theme of salvation and resurrection (implicit in Jesus’ miraculous birth from a virgin), the heavenly setting, the powerful mother-child imagery, and the extensive appearance of gold and gems, this Christian scene offers comparisons with Egyptian ideas of eternal life.
Virgin of the Rosary
Attributed to Melchor Pérez Holguín (Bolivian, c. 1665–after 1732)
Potosí, Bolivia
Late 17th–early 18th century
Gold leaf with oil on canvas
Dallas Museum of Art, The Cleofas and Celia de la Garza Collection, gift of Mary de la Garza-Hanna and Virginia de la Garza and an anonymous donor, 1994.37.3
