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To set before the king: residential mural painting at Xultun, Guatemala

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 January 2015

William Saturno ,
Heather Hurst ,
Franco Rossi  and
David Stuart
William Saturno
Affiliation:
Archaeology Department, Boston University, 675 Commonwealth Avenue, Suite 347, Boston, MA 02215, USA (Email: saturno@bu.edu; frossi@bu.edu)
Heather Hurst
Affiliation:
Anthropology Department, Skidmore College, 815 North Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866, USA (Email: hhurst@skidmore.edu)
Franco Rossi
Affiliation:
Archaeology Department, Boston University, 675 Commonwealth Avenue, Suite 347, Boston, MA 02215, USA (Email: saturno@bu.edu; frossi@bu.edu)
David Stuart
Affiliation:
Department of Art and Art History, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA (Email: davidstuart@austin.utexas.edu)
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Abstract

Maya murals depicting scenes of courtly life are well known from sites such as Bonampak; far less common are scenes depicting life outside the royal sphere. Recent excavations at Xultun in Guatemala have revealed well-preserved murals in a domestic context that offer a fresh perpective on life in the Maya court, that of the priests, scribes and artists who attended the royal governor. Here, the authors decode the images to reveal the lives and activities of those who planned, performed and recorded official events in Classic-period Xultun. One of only two well-preserved examples of eastern Maya lowland wall painting from the Late Classic period, this rare display of master craftsmanship outside of the royal court sheds new light on the lives of those who produced it.

Keywords

GuatemalaXultunMayaClassic periodmuralsemblem glyphroyal imagescribal priestsfigurative wall arttaaj
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 89 , Issue 343 , February 2015 , pp. 122 - 136
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd., 2015 

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