Evening star., 1926-05-02

10 build the noble temples UI NOpdIl,
mother city of the Mayas.
But art eternal never dies. So i'll
the rebirth Of this wondrous people
new cities sprang to life-Chichen
Ttza, Cxmal and Mayapan. The en-
hers of the dying fire were famed to
life, and art once more famed forth
10 their eternal glory. Then death
again did claim it's toll and once more
Maya art was dead. Not dead. but
only slumberiug, to be awakened by a
Young and Virorous people or the
North; then privilege il shall be to
take up the work where Maya LETT II
uff and carry ON.
The second renaissance has JUST
begun. oh. great Kukulcan. make
clean to them their heritage sublime
aud inspire them to nob!er ideals than
Maya ever dreamed"
thus runs the foreword. half pro-
nhetical halls poetic0l Of a new book,
pu1ldcrous Yet symmetrical. fasclnat-
iu2. handsomely printed and bound IN
.,n edition limited To 500 copies, Nhlrh
tr,ls with The MAYA art from the COM
iiued historical. arChcoiogical, artistic
aud architectural StauGpOintS. and
,,li,ii Is the result nf some seven
Years If n.4iuStaliiuc labor OF the part
-, George Oakley Tottcn, Washington
architect.
The No!umc. which is dedicated to
Tho authors two small sons. ana
which was compiled largely with
,5ov to It's possession by museums.
Iuhlc institutions aud architects. has
l,oeu published by the Maya Press o.
;hiS cltv. one of the first copies to
.ona from the hands of the binder
will be displayed in the book ante
room at the approaching annual
Spring meeting here of the American
Institute Of Architects. That 1t VIII
awaken their interest is apparent even
lu the laYman.
Mr.. Totten's book is bound in green,
With a design applied in gold repre-
sentjnc a Maya doorway hanked by
pillars whose pediments are conven-
tionalized tigers Its pages number
ESQ. each being 10 by 12i3 inches in
size. while the paper is both duraDle
and susceptible of beautiful reproduc-
ton of q large number OF or1glnaI
colored plates of drawings and or pho-
fographs taken by the author him
self or loaned by scientific institu-
tions.
THE deep interest of the author IN
Maya art as a source OF inspu'a-
tion for modern buildings dates back
eight or more years ago. for as faf
hack as 1919. following careful study
nf all available material in museums
and libraries in this country, he made
q trip TO Yucatan for f1rst-hand IN
snection of the wonders of the lost
Maya civilization. This trip proved
particularly fortunate in that 1t re-
suited in the discovery OF ceItaIl
fragments of the decorative colorS
applied by the Mayas to their puotlc
and religious buildings, fo-. like the
ancient Greeks, they painted freely
and with pigments 80 durable tnat
the vestiges have lasted for centuries
This tropical trip was made primarily
in order to gain inspiration ior
distinctive and appropriate design ior
a museum to house American lnulaI
curios which 1t was planned 70 erect
In the National Capital. Although no
further stems have been taken since
toward the erection of such struc-
ture. Mr.. Totten was awarded a mccall
at the 1923 salon of the Societe oeS
Arttstes Francois for his plans.
The publication of this valuable vol
,lrne is synchronous with the awaken
ing all over the United States of gen
eral interest in the remains or TINS
wonderful. ancient people who lnhao-
;ted Central America at the begin
ming of the Christian era and VINO
f1ourished for at least q millennium
by many. may prove a satisfying sup
plcment to the highly popular - IN
fact almost oVerpOpul3r - Spanish
styIe now florescent i'll California,
Florida and other places. and IN some
instances may replace II. 1t Is one
of the few treasure houses OF ancient
art as yet not drawn upon. 1hat II
ia in every way worthy of trial Is ap-
parent to those fortunate enough TO
view the book which IS the outcome
Of its authors enthusiasm.
It was the authors original lnten-
ton, he explains in his Introduction.
to confine his effort to the architec-
ture of the Maya renaissance, but SO
. appealing was the classic period OF
centuries earlier that he eventually
included many of the best examples
It was not until 1888 that John L.
stevens, a New Yorker who had gone
10 Honduras on a diplomatic MISSION
first brought to the notice or the
world the fact that America had once
possessed a race Of artistic and cui-
tural development comparable with
that of any people of antiquity. After
the little furor which hts works ere
ated. the tropical forests once more
engulfed the relics until 1880. when
they were again brought to light Dy
an EngliShman. Since then eXplora-
lions nave p-NOtliC AAO'1
freouent, more comprehensive and
more successful. Today the Carnegie
institution is carrying on research
work at Chichen Itza. one OF the prin-
cIpal three cities, and at UaXactun,
Guatemala.
The Archaeological Society of Wash
ington, Tulane University and the
Peabody Museum of Harvard are also
in the field. The Carnegie Institu-
ton, learning OF Mr.. Tottens plan
for this book, offered him every IA
cility, including the loan of all its
great collection of photographs.
An outline of Maya history included
among the earlier chapters of the
book comes as a valued prerequisite
for the understanding and apprecia-
ton of the more technical chapters
which follow. The Mayas had -four
ishing cities at the time of the open
ing of the Christian era. They had
highly complicated political and re-
ligious lie, of which their art was
natural concomitant. Even before
our era. they had a written language
of a type unlike any other known
writing, and comparable with If not
superior to the Egyptian. For dec
AIDES the key thereto remained undis-
covered, but of recent years marked
progress has been made, until now
perhaps 40 per cent Of the symbols
are understood. including those hav-
ing to do with their complicated and
uncani;uy accurate calendar.
y Il Y
TIIE Mayan pantheon was some
what comparable TO that of the
Greeks Kukulcan. invoked in the
foreword quoted earlier in this article,
was one of the chief deities and,
among other attributes, was the god
of culture. At the time of the early
Spanish discoverers and conquerors