emotions in ancient sculpture

I'm always fascinated how artists capture emotions in the faces of humans (and other creatures), usually with very simple lines. I don't know if it's the artist's skill, my tendency to "read" emotions or some combination. In any case, it creates a real, visceral connection between me and the artwork and/or me and the person represented or depicted in the artwork. Or with the creature, as is sometimes the case. And in the case of ancient art, I feel a connection that transcends a great deal of time, space, and culture. That, to me, is utterly remarkable!!

A couple of months ago Tía Jenny and I went to the Museo Rufion Tamayo aka Museo de Arte Prehispánico de México. This is a museum started by a contemporary Mexican artist...who is also Oaxaca. He has acquired a pretty large collection of ancient art in order to keep it out of the hands of looters and collectors and like that and this is now all in a beautiful museum in Oaxaca de Juárez. It's a little unusual because the collection is less archeological in its focus and more artistic (as is Tamayo's wont to do things, eg, the Jardín Etnobotanico...). There are so many amazing things in the museo, I always want to take a foto of ALL of them. This is rather ridiculous endeavor so this last time, I hit upon the idea of photographing the pieces that spoke to me from the perspective of emotion, those pieces that convey a overwhelming sense of human (and other?) emotion. Here are at least some of those pieces:

check out the teeth! and the raised eyebrows!!

utter goofy-ness in that doggo kind of way

bit blurry but I don't think it's just the empty eyes and the crack that seems like tear tracks that give this piece its overwhelming sense of despair...

oh the innocent uncomplicated glee!

could there be more contentment?! to me, a dog yawning after a blissful nap in the sun

this is a very parrot-y emotion, somehow slightly superior and they know and they know we know and we know they know but they aren't going to be too obvious about it, with a little bit of amusement thrown in there too

three faces, almost the same but yet very different. the one on the right seems to be working quite hard at holding in their tears and the one on the left, has a look of wonder and intelligence. the middle-- I'm not sure...

like everyone's favorite abuelita, open arms, un-judgemental, unconditional welcome and love

Serene kiss

googly eyed awe or surprise with a bunch of mischevious goofiness tossed in

These last two are my favorites, both from the Maya tradition, both priests. This one with sternness, great arrogance and disdain, almost.

And this priest, he just utterly slayed me. The set of the mouth is similar to the one before but somehow the face/body language is all different-- he seems exhausted and downcast, perhaps after long days of ceremony