ART 198 - HISTORY OF WORLD CERAMICS

The body of this cylinder vase is painted with a complex textile design that depicts both loom-woven and hand plaited weaving techniques. First, a cream colored slip was painted onto the cylinder, and then stripes in an red-orange wash which represents layers of cloth. Sophisticated textiles such as what are depicted here on this ceramic vase have also been found on figures of women carved in stone at Yaxchilán. It is through the ceramics of the Maya, as with the cultures of Greece and the Middle East, that we have learned what the clothing and fabrics of the period look like, because these ephemeral media do not survive. Other examples of Maya pottery show us what their basketry looked like, as well as their food, and interior furnishings. This example is particularly well preserved, and the nuanced quality of the range of washes employed is clearly visible, as well as the high burnish that the Mayan potter was able to obtain. The PSS (Primary Standard Sequence) in the upper frieze is also painted with a sure calligraphic hand.

Maya Polychrome Cylinder Vase with Textile Design, from Guatemala Classic Maya Period, 672-830 CE, 11.75" x 6.5"