Customer Reviews

Aztec Art

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A wonderful book; I'd buy another like it in a heartbeat. For Mesoamerican/Aztec cultural arts fans, this is a "must buy" and makes a SUPER gift!

Anyone serious about understanding the Aztec mind and social order should read both "Time and Sacrifice in the Aztec Cosmos" (K. A. Read) and also, "THE JADE STEPS" by Burr Cartwright Brundage (University of Utah Press; (c)1985; ISBN# 0-87480-247-4). FYI, Dr. Brundage has authored nearly a dozen extraordinarily well written and researched books on Aztec civilization; most are (sadly) tough to find.

I respect the author based on her previous works on Teotihuacan. However in this large work of 335 pages I found myself in the midst of too much text and not enough photographs or other depictions of art. Yes there are around 320 plates/illustrations. But the amount of text was a bit much for me. This is because often, even with an art historian doing the schpeel, you end up receiving accepted ideas about a piece which may or may not have anything to do with what the work was originally about. I ended up feeling I was reading through others ideas about the Aztecs and that there was no voice of the Aztec themselves. This is a common danger in archeological works. So while I can recommend this book as a check out from a library I find it not taking a significant place in a personal collection on MesoAmerican art.

From the back cover: "Pasztory has placed these major works of Pre-Columbian art in a historical context, relating them to the reigns of individual rulers, events in Aztec history, and the needs of different social groups from the elite to the farmer. She focuses on the little-known aspects of the aesthetics, poetry, and humanity of the Aztecs.
In 1984 the book received a Special Citation from the Charles Rufus Morey Book Award Committee of the College Art Association."

This is one of the best books I have ever purchased regarding the Aztecs. It gives great background to Mesoamerican civilizations as well as a detailed history regarding the Aztec world. The book contains excellent pictures and descriptions of every piece of Aztec art you could possibly think of. I have been to the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City and most if not all works at the museum are featured in this book. I would highly recommend this work to anyone interested in Aztec civilization, Aztec art, or art in general.