Table Of ContentThe Science and
Art of Maya Painted
Ceramic Vessels
The Science and
Art of Maya Painted
Ceramic Vessels:
Contextualizing a
Collection
Edited by Diana Magaloni and Megan E. O’Neil
With contributions by Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos,
Charlotte Eng, Héctor Leonel Escobedo Ayala,
John W. Hirx, Stephen Houston, Laura Maccarelli,
Diana Magaloni, Mary E. Miller, Megan E. O’Neil, Yosi Pozeilov,
and Dorie Reents-Budet and Ronald L. Bishop
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Contents
Director’s Foreword 5
Map 6
1 Introduction 7
Diana Magaloni
2 Studies in the Art and Science of 13
Ancient Maya Painted Ceramics and
LACMA’s Maya Vase Research Project
Megan E. O’Neil
3 Methodology 21
Technical Imaging
Yosi Pozeilov
Scientific Methods of Analysis
Laura Maccarelli and Charlotte Eng
Insights into Maya Ceramic Techniques
with Digital X-radiography
Megan E. O’Neil and John W. Hirx
4 Building the Ceramic Vessel 33
John W. Hirx and Megan E. O’Neil
5 Transformation through Fire: 51
The Art of Ceramic Painting
Diana Magaloni, John W. Hirx, Laura Maccarelli,
and Charlotte Eng
6 Postfire Painting 69
Laura Maccarelli, Megan E. O’Neil, Diana Magaloni,
and Charlotte Eng
Technical Catalogue 87
7 From a Karst Landscape to Majestic 371
Vessels: Reconstructing Ancient Maya
Ceramic Practices
John W. Hirx
8 Pottery of the Central and Eastern Peten: 379
A Study of Chemistry and Style
Dorie Reents-Budet and Ronald L. Bishop
9 Maya Painted Vessels in Context: 399
An Overview of Maya Culture
Héctor Leonel Escobedo Ayala
10 Shaped Pots, Painted Surfaces: 415
The Artistry of Ancient Maya Potters
and Painters
Megan E. O’Neil
11 In the Court of the Moon Gods: Maya Lunar 429
Myths and the Patrons of Glyph C
Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos
12 The Trouble with Sets: Renewing the 445
Contexts of Maya Vases
Mary E. Miller
13 The Social Life of Maya Pots 457
Stephen Houston
Checklist of the Study 464
Acknowledgments 469
Bibliography 471
Illustration Credits 478
Director's Foreword
The Science and Art of Ancient Maya Ceramics: Contextualizing a Collection looks
deeply into the making of twenty-five polychrome ceramic vases created by Classic
Maya artists more than a millennium ago. Weaving together close observations of
these beautiful artworks, scientific analyses of their constituent materials, and
Indigenous knowledge of traditional ceramic engineering and artistry, this book allows
a glimpse into the minds of Classic Maya artists—their empirical knowledge of the
natural world, as well as their technical skill that transformed raw materials into art.
It is both a privilege and a responsibility for a museum such as LACMA to not only care
for and conserve our collections, but also to investigate them so that we can share
their histories with our visitors and communities.
The Science and Art of Ancient Maya Ceramics exemplifies the importance of
collaborative work within the museum. Diana Magaloni, who today heads both the
Department of Art of the Ancient Americas and the Conservation Center at LACMA,
brought together the art historical and anthropological expertise of the curatorial
team, the expert knowledge of renowned scholars in the field of Maya art and culture,
and the specialized scientific skillset of the conservation team to consider the art and
science of these twenty-five vessels.
In accordance with LACMA’s mission to foster cultural equity and promote
meaningful engagement with the countries of origin for the objects in our care, the
museum’s Publications Department conceived of The Science and Art of Ancient
Maya Ceramics as a freely accessible digital publication, available in both English
and Spanish. In this manner, the knowledge produced by the diverse and outstanding
team of art historians, anthropologists, conservators, conservation scientists, and
technical-imaging experts can be easily shared with students of the Classic Maya
around the world.
Significant museum publications focused on conservation issues are rare these
days, as are publications representing nearly a decade of work, and fewer still in
this field of ancient objects and conservation are bilingual seeking an international
audience. This publication serves three overlapping and interrelated roles: as a
methodological handbook, encouraging other technicians to replicate this study’s
scientific processes; as a technical catalogue, documenting in depth the findings
of this study for each of the vessels under consideration; and as an anthropological
and art historical reflection on the cultural, historical, and artistic phenomena that
enveloped the creation of these sorts of colorful vessels. It is my sincere hope that
scientists, researchers, and students alike make use of this open-access publication
to build on these initial efforts and to continue to deepen our understanding of
Classic Maya pottery.
Thank you to our Conservation Center, to the Art of the Ancient Americas
team, and to our Publications partners for bringing to light such an important work.
Finally, I extend my gratitude to Dan Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser, whose vision
and support made this publication possible.
Michael Govan
CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
5
Archaeological Sites in Text
Maya Site Dzibilchaltun
City
Yucatan Chichen Itza
Ticul
Jaina Loltun
Quintana Roo
Campeche
Dzibanche
Becan
Calakmul
Los Alacranes Cuello
Tabasco
Lamanai
El Mirador
Río Azul
Palenque
El Perú
La Joyanca
Piedras Negras El Cayo Pajaral
Yaxchilan
Zapote Bobal Caracol
Bonampak Punta de Chimino
La Amelia Ceibal Actun Balam
Ixtutz
Chiapas Altar de Sacrificios
Machaquila
Dos Pilas Aguateca
Quirigua
Río Azul
Copan Nakbe Lamanai
Kaminaljuyu El Chayal San Bartolo
Xultun
Tintal
Guatemala City
Uaxactun
Cival
Holmul
N El Palmar Barton Ramie
Tikal
Nakum
Buenavista del Cayo
Yaxha
Xunantunich
0 50 100 km Motul de San José
Naranjo
Tayasal Chabil Ukal Rock Shelter
0 25 50 mi Caracol
6
1 Introduction
Diana Magaloni
7
Introduction
The Department of Art of the Ancient Americas, the Conservation Center, and the
Publications Department at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) collabo-
rated to conceive and produce this bilingual online publication, which presents
extensive research on twenty-five Maya painted ceramic vessels from the museum’s
collection undertaken as part of the Maya Vase Research Project, started in 2015.
Conducted by a team of curators, conservators, a conservation scientist, a conserva-
tion photographer, and invited scholars, this interdisciplinary project examined the
materials and artistic processes involved in the creation of these beautiful vases. A
methodological approach centered around controlled microarchaeological investiga-
tion allowed each of these museum objects to reveal the kinds of knowledge and
human skills involved in its conception and manufacturing, recovering cultural and
social contexts that were lost in all of their modern histories through uncontrolled
digging and the pressures of the international art market.
Reflecting the vision, expertise, and commitment that motivates LACMA’s
research and programming, the team undertook this project as a form of active
engagement with the ethical principles that guide the museum’s vision of cultural
responsibility. The privilege of stewardship of these Maya painted ceramics requires
that their artistic, cultural, and historic value and the worldviews they proudly repre-
sent be studied, documented, and disseminated in the broadest and most inclusive
manner possible. Accordingly, this electronic bilingual edition can and should be
freely shared.
Two important publications on painted ceramic vessels of the Maya Classic
period (250–900 CE) that address artistic techniques, procedures, and identities
have guided this project. Dorie Reents-Budet’s seminal Painting the Maya Universe:
Royal Ceramics of the Classic Period (1994) served as the catalogue for an exhibition
that counted LACMA among its five venues. The outstanding catalogue of the
Princeton University Art Museum, Dancing into Dreams: Maya Vase Painting of the Ik’
Kingdom (2012), coordinated by Bryan Just, includes a specialized contribution on
conservation, original ceramic techniques, and material analysis. The current project
profited from the ideas and findings produced by these two excellent publications,
applying a rigorous methodology and technological advancements to deepen and
expand knowledge of key aspects of the art of making painted ceramics.
Examining works from LACMA’s permanent collection in a museum context
afforded uniform access to each object and fostered a cohesive, interdisciplinary
focus. Curator Megan E. O’Neil played a key role in the selection of the Maya painted
ceramics included in the study, taking into consideration archaeological, art
historical, and epigraphic aspects of each object. Yosi Pozeilov generated invaluable
high-resolution technical images using a wide range of photographic and imaging
processes (x-radiography, near-infrared false-color imaging, and visible light, reflect-
ed near-infrared, induced ultraviolet fluorescence, and rollout photography). Pairing
these technologies with the non- and micro-destructive analytical examinations
conducted by Charlotte Eng and Laura Maccarelli made possible a thorough charac-
terization of the materials and techniques used to create the vessels. The analytical
results could be intimately related to a series of technical images, which in turn were
transformed into rich documents for interpretation and comparison. Each object
was studied by itself and in relation to the group to better define singular and shared
characteristics. The high-resolution images allowed for detailed and exhaustive
observation, and comparison of the data obtained through different technical imaging
of a single object provided an improved understanding of the artistic procedures and
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