Design for Eternity: Architectural Models from the Ancient Americas

From the first millennium B.C. until the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century, artists from the ancient Americas created small-scale architectural models to be placed in the tombs of important individuals. These works in stone, ceramic, wood, and metal range from highly abstracted, minimalist representations of temples and houses to elaborate architectural complexes populated with figures. Such miniature structures were critical components in funerary practice and beliefs about an afterlife, and they convey a rich sense of ancient ritual as well as the daily lives of the Aztecs, the Incas, and their predecessors.

This exhibition, the first of its kind in the United States, sheds light on the role of these objects in mediating relationships between the living, the dead, and the divine. It also provides a rare look at ancient American architecture, much of which did not survive to the present day. Some 30 remarkable loans from museums in the United States and Peru join works from The Met's permanent collection, which is particularly rich in this material.

#DesignforEternity

Featured Media

Friday Focus

"...a tantalizing exhibition..."—Wall Street Journal

The exhibition is made possible by Jill and Alan Rappaport in honor of Joanne Pearson.

Additional support is provided by the Friends of the Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas.

The catalogue is made possible by the Mary C. and James W. Fosburgh Publications Fund and The MCS Endowment Fund.