The Maya Calendar depicted here was called "the Haab", the Maya solar calendar of 365 days. It was divided into 18 months of 20 days each with a period of 5 days left over at the end of the year. This short 5 day month is called Uayeb, "the resting or sleep of the year". The Maya also used another calendar of 260 days called the sacred round or Tzolkin composed of 13 months of 20 days. A cycle of 52 solar years, called the calendar round was also used. The calendar round of 52 years included both the Haab and Tzolkin calendars intermeshing with each other. Any specific day in the 260 day calendar had a unique corresponding position in the 360 day calendar but that corresponding position would not repeat itself again for 52 solar years. This calendar sculpture shows the Maya God of Time at the center, supporting the burden of time on his back. He is surrounded by the hieroglyphs of the 19 months.
Almost
all of our items come with a
history card or string history card that provides background on the history,
mythology, location and main characteristics of the ancient original.
Many items come boxed in elegant color
gift boxes. We are progressively including more items in color boxes.
Museum Reproductions Information:
History of Art Reproductions:
As far as we know, the history of art reproductions
takes us back to Imperial Rome where bronze and marble reproductions of Greek masterpieces
served as decoration for lavish Roman Villas and Gardens. The art of casting is
thousands of years old: Terracotta’s, Bronzes and ancient glass were cast from molds.
Closer to our time in the mid 18th century coinciding with the search for new artistic
styles which took inspiration from the roots of classic art (neoclassicism) and
the discovery of Herculaneum in 1738 and Pompeii in 1748, archaeological reproductions
reappeared all over Europe. As a result of French expeditions to Egypt during the
nineteenth century, a casting facility was set up next to the Louvre Museum where
many important archaeological pieces from ancient Egypt were reproduced. Following
the example of the Louvre, other leading European museums began to reproduce some
of the masterpieces in their collections thus initiating a trend that continues
until today.
Art Reproduction Craftsmanship:
For the making of art reproductions, masterpieces
have been chosen from the best museums all over the world, The Louvre, The British
Museum, The National Museum of Athens, The Egyptian Museum Cairo, The New York Metropolitan
Museum of Art. We only use materials and techniques that can achieve the best quality
in reproducing original works of art to obtain very fine pieces, up to the last
detail. Our sculptures are cast in a variety of mediums: Bonded Stone, Polyresins,
and Bronze. The finish of each reproduction, is always hand-made and showing craftsmanship
and historical sense, is the work of an artisan. It is the task to present to the
people of today the legacy of those ancient civilizations with all the beauty and
mystery of our ancestors again in front of our eyes and at the reach of our hands.
There is several steps that must be taken before a museum reproduction sculpture
can be made. Most of our items are original artworks created by our sculptors, carved
out of clay, stone, or wood. Once the original is carved, a mold is made, usually
out of silicon. Crushed stone in a liquid resin medium is poured into a silicon
mold where it solidifies into a hard stone that reproduces all the detail and texture
of the original. All the finishes are done by hand. Many finishes include color
detailing, a labor intensive process where colors are applied with small brushes
by our skilled artisans.
Museum Reproductions
