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(11 objects, created 1/26/2012)

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View of a vaulted arch from the shade of a tree, east side, Governor's Palace. (Image Credit: Michelle Williamson, Ideum)

View of a vaulte...

Michael Coe, anthropology professor and museum curator, calls these masks characteristic of Puuc-style building, a tradition to which the Palace of the Governor is consummate. In "The Maya," he describes this style as the "exuberant use of stone mosaics on upper facades, emphasizing the usual monster-masks with long, hook-shaped snouts, as well as frets and lattice-like designs of criss-crossed elements." Look for these latter elements elsewhere on this face of the Governor's Palace. (Image Credit: Michelle Williamson, Ideum)

Michael Coe, ant...

Two 25 foot arches separate the Governor's Palace into three sections, and originally served as open doorways through the palace and out onto the west side. They were later blocked by a wall built crosswise that turned them into small chambers, but at some point in time the wall collapsed and they have been rendered visible from the outside once again. They now stand as cavernous indentations into the building's facade, provide housing for bats, and punctuate the building's 326 ft north-south facade. (Image Credit: Michelle Williamson, Ideum)

Two 25 foot arch...

The Governor's Palace is often referred to as the culmination and finest example of Puuc-style architecture. Arising in the Puuc hills region of the northwestern Yucatan, this aesthetic is characterized by building facades formed by the inlay of a limestone veneer over a cement and rubble core. The upper portion of these walls are elaborately decorated in stone mosaics, and often jut out slightly over the plain lower portion of the wall. Upper frieze mosaics incorporate elaborate stonework with criss-crossing latticework elements. A continuous molding seperates the intricately decorated upper frieze from the plain lower wall, and is repeated along the uppermost edge of the building. (Image Credit: Michelle Williamson, Ideum)

The Governor's P...

This is a double-headed jaguar throne in front of the Palace of the Governor, typically connected to the seats of actual governors. (Image Credit: Michelle Williamson, Ideum)

This is a double...

Close-up of the double-headed jaguar, although the second head is not visible. (Image Credit: Jim Spadaccini, Ideum)

Close-up of the ...

The Governor's Palace at Uxmal sits on a 23-foot elevated platform by itself. The visual emphasis is on openness and a horizontal line of sight which reflects the plain elongated lower portion of the facade against the open sky. A continuous horizontal molding introduces and concludes the elaborate mosaic work that appears on the upper frieze of the building. The Governor's Palace is oriented to mark the breadth of the sun's sweep during a solar year. The sun will move from one extreme end of the Palace to the other and back as it cycles between the solstices, or longest days, when the sun has its widest arc. (Image Credit: Michelle Williamson, Ideum)

The Governor's P...

This frieze on the front of the Governor's Palace, separated into three sections by vaulted arches such as the one shown here, is often praised as one of the culminating examples of the Puuc architectural fluorescence. Stonework expert Edward Ranney describes it: "This frieze is decorated with a continuous abstract pattern dominated by regularly rising and falling stepped lines. Stylized Chac masks, stepped frets, and Greek frets stand out as the prominent motifs of these alternating lines. The juxtaposition of the religious sky-serpent symbol against abstract, geometric forms creates a striking visual tension within the well-ordered rhythm of the design." (Image Credit: Michelle Williamson, Ideum)

This frieze on t...

Detail from the Palace of the Governor. This is a representation of the throne of the Governor of Uxmal. In the upper region we see a large feathered headdress; in the lower part, we see the figure of the dignitary seated in a horseshoe-shaped throne. Surrounding this image is the decoration of rows of double-headed serpents. (Image Credit: Michelle Williamson, Ideum)

Detail from the ...

Close-up of a depiction of the Governor's throne. (Image Credit: Amy Barsky, Ideum)

Close-up of a de...

Detail from the upper facade of the Governor's Palace. (Image Credit: Amy Barsky, Ideum)

Detail from the ...

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