Bonampák Photographs

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Metadata

Core Title Bonampák Photographs

Collection description "BONAMPÁK (boh-nahm-pahk) Mayan for 'Painted Walls.' The original name of the city is unknown.
"Bonampák, located in the Mexican State of Chiapas, is unique among all ancient Maya cities because of the astounding quality and condition of its surviving artwork and for the historical information it depicts. The name given this ruin is Mayan for 'Painted Walls,' and was said to be selected by archaeologist Sylvanus Morley. It is most appropriate, because it describes the extraordinary paintings, which were preserved through a fortunate accident. Shortly after the temple was built, rainwater seeped into the plaster of the roof in such a way as to cover the interior walls with a layer of slightly transparent calcium."
"From the Main Plaza a broad stairway leads to the first level and you will find two more stelae, with one displaying detailed fabric textures in the garments of the female figures."
"Bonampák’s major temples are located a few steps above the stelae on the first level of the terrace. To the left is a small temple with a double-columned doorway. To the right is the larger 'Temple of the Murals,', containing the famous Bonampák paintings.
"Archaeologists agree that what was found inside this structure has greatly increased our knowledge of Maya daily life and culture. From the outside it appears to be the remains of a simple Maya temple with three rooms. But once inside you begin to see one of the masterpieces of New World art. Looking at the wall murals may be a disappointment for many visitors because the temple was built in such a way that rain water leaked down through its limestone walls covering the paintings with a thick white frosting of calcite that obscured the bright colors and some details. Fortunately, the calcite covering over the artwork occurred soon after the paintings were completed, so that it actually acted as a protecting coating, preserving the original colors before they deteriorated over the next thousand years. Starting in 1984 the Mexican government began a three-year program to clean off the murals. Before the cleaning only hand-painted copies had been made, but when the work was completed, permission was granted from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History for the National Geographic Society to take color photographs of the murals and scan the images into a computer. The Society. also took infrared photographs to obtain other details in the paintings. The resulting computer generated reconstructions are now as close to the originals as anyone could come without having been there when they were first painted. Reproductions of the art are contained in the February 1995 issue of 'National Geographic' magazine."
"Art historian, Mary Miller, from Yale University, sees the three different mural rooms as three chapters in the story of understanding Maya culture. Room one depicts a young heir to the king being presented to royal lords who hold a lavish celebration. Room two is the scene of a battle, which provides captives for human sacrifice to appease the gods and honor the new heir. In room three Bonampak’s nobles confirm the heir’s right to the throne with an elaborate bloodletting ritual."
"For many years archaeologists believed that the ancient Maya were a culture made up of peaceful nobles and priests, quietly exploring science, art and architecture. Bonampák’s vivid scenes depicting more than two hundred characters involved in celebration, warfare, cruelty and humor, confirm a more recent scholarly belief that the Maya exhibited all the flaws and grace of humanity. Bonampák appears to have been abandoned shortly after the murals were painted, and the powerful artwork still portrays life in the Maya culture."-- Payne Johnson.
“See also John Lloyd Stephens. Incidents of travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan, with numerous engravings. Revised from the latest American edition, with additions, by Frederick Catherwood. London: Arthur Hall, Virtue & Co., 1854. https://digitallibrary.usc.edu/asset-management/2A3BF1QKX7SV5?WS=SearchResults.”

Creator Johnson, Payne B. (photographer)

Publisher University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Date Created 2000-02

Coverage Temporal 2000-02

Place Name Bonampák (archaeological sites), Central America (regions), Chiapas (states), Mexico (countries), North America (continents)

Subject Archaeological site location (lcsh)

Tags OAI-PMH Harvest

Format 20 photographs (extent), ruins (aat)

Internet Media Type multipart/related

Type images

Source 20210812-johnson-meso-shoaf (batch), Bonampák Photographs (subcollection), Payne B. Johnson Latin American Photographs (collection), University of Southern California (contributing entity)

Identifier 2 (box), 0550 (collection number), johnson-bnm (filename)