Curating an exhibit of ancient Maya artifacts is somewhat akin to participating in an international high-stakes scavenger hunt: One is constantly in competition with looters, and the prize might be fragmented, damaged, or even completely nonexistent.
   But one thing remains constant: The prize is always worth the chase, even when it’s shattered into a million pieces.
Or so explorers and curators and the University of Pennsylvania have believed for many years, currently evidenced by a new exhibit on display at the UPenn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, titled “Painted Metaphors: Pottery and Politics of the Ancient Maya.” The exhibit will remain at the museum through Jan. 31, when it will embark on a multi-city national tour. 

   This exhibit is the result of years of research and field work by UPenn scientists and archaeologists, chief among them Robert Burkitt, who discovered many of the items included in the display, including the exhibit showcase, a group of cylindrical Maya painted pottery from Chama, a village in the highlands. “Painted Metaphors” really revolves around both the art and the concept of this series of polychromes, which are pieced together in various states of completeness — sometimes the narrative on the cylinder is completely lost, due to the jagged cracks which run through the works — but as Interim Head of Conservation Lynn A. Grant notes, the artifacts are valuable in any condition. These Chaman polychromes are important both as examples of authentic artwork, and as physical proof of the sudden introduction of people and ideas from the lowlands of the Maya world, who traveled to Chama, bringing their pottery and their customs with them.

   While the polychromes represent both a narrative and a physical history of migration, other aspects of the exhibit represent the various customs and ways of life in a more physical sense. Incense holders and small tokens believed to induce magic tell of the importance of the shaman, or magic man, in Maya communities. Other vases and pots depict the sacred beings of the culture, such as the bat, revered for its cave-dwelling habits — the Maya people believed caves were passageways to the underground — and jaguars, honored for their strength and beauty.

   Another aspect of this exhibit is told through the hieroglyphics carved into many of the relics. The Maya civilization is one of the most ancient in the world, dating from the Preclassic period (1500 BCE), but until around 30 years ago, the hieroglyphic system of writing was largely unreadable and incomprehensible. But through the continued discoveries of artifacts and through continued research, many of these secrets are being uncovered. New means of preserving and reconstructing fragmented artifacts are also playing a large role in the documentation of this near-hidden civilization, with the conservation and preservation firm of Rohm and Haas overseeing the process of restoration for this exhibit.

   But even as the fragments are reassembled to represent their former uses as water pots and serving dishes,  incense-holders and decorative vases, much of the mystery remains, trapped in the ancient clay that retains its secrets, even as the modern world attempts to pry them loose.

Lindsay Warner can be reached at calendar@thebulletin.us