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| Keywords: Mayan - Stucco Portrait Head - Walters 20092026 - Three Quarter Right.jpg A fundamental feature of Mesoamerican formal architecture was the use of molded modeled and carved stucco decoration Painted either monochrome red or in a variety of colors these façades narrated key precepts of religio-political ideology displaying the supernatural patrons and worldly authority of the aristocracy that used the structures The façade decoration also could reveal a building's function as well as its symbolic identity This stucco head which was part of a larger pictorial façade narrative illustrates the close connection between the gods and Maya aristocracy The head with intact earflares depicts the maize god recognized by the tau-shaped tooth sloping forehead and tonsured hair He is adorned with the abundant jadeite jewelry typical of renderings of the deity including earflares and a tubular bead headband with a large central diadem The Maya would often intentionally destroy a building's decorative façade and then collapse the vaulted chambers prior to constructing a new building atop the rubble Frequently the rubble contained fragments of the old stucco narrative now buried below the new platform Most often it is the heads that survive in the debitage which suggests that the Maya paid particular attention to the faces of deities and royalty when they destroyed stucco façades during renovation projects In addition stucco façade heads have been found as offerings in tombs or other ritual caches placed inside buildings Such special treatment indicates the prestige and likely perceived spiritual power of these stucco portraits among the Classic Period Maya AD 550-850 Late Classic stucco paint cm 28 23 9 17 9 accession number 2009 20 26 80181 Stendahl Galleries Los Angeles date and mode of acquisition unknown John G Bourne 1970s by purchase Walters Art Museum Gift of John Bourne 2009 place of origin Campeche Mexico Walters Art Museum license Maya art in the Walters Art Museum Media contributed by the Walters Art Museum needs category review Maya stuccos | ||||
