From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Maya Blue |
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— Color coordinates — |
| Hex triplet |
#73C2FB |
| sRGBB |
(r, g, b) |
(115, 194, 251) |
| HSV |
(h, s, v) |
(210°, 96%, 87%) |
|
Source |
Internet |
B: Normalized to [0–255] (byte)
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A warrior with Azul Maya on the background
Maya Blue (Spanish: Azul Maya) is a
unique bright blue to greenish-blue pigment manufactured by cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, such as the Maya and Aztec.
Manufacture
The Maya blue pigment is a composite of organic and
inorganic constituents, primarily indigo dyes derived from the leaves of añil (Indigofera
suffruticosa) plants combined with palygorskite, a natural clay.[1] Smaller
trace amounts of other mineral additives have also been
identified.[2]
Historical
use
"Maya blue" first appeared around the 800 A.D. and it was still
used in the 16th century in
several Convents of Colonial Mexico, notably in the paintings of
the Indian Juan Gerson in Tecamachalco. These paintings are a clear
example of the combination of Indian and European techniques
sometimes known as Arte
Indocristiano. After that, the techniques for its production
were lost in Mexico but in Cuba there are examples from 1830.[3]
Resistance to weathering
Despite time and the harsh weathering conditions, paintings
colored by Maya Blue have not faded over time. What is even more
remarkable is that the color has resisted chemical solvents and
acids such as nitric acid. Recently, its resistance against
chemical aggression (acids, alkalis, solvents, etc.) and
biodegradation was tested, and it was shown that Maya blue is an
extremely resistant pigment, but it can be destroyed using very
intense acid treatment under reflux.[4]
Research on chemical
composition
Microscopic image of a mural in Bonampak
Microscopic image of a mural in Teotihuacan
Mexican Colonial Painting by Juan Gerson where Maya Blue was used.
The technique disappeared in the early colonial period.
The chemical composition of the compound was determined by powder
diffraction in the 1950s[5] and was
found to be a composite of palygorskite and Indigo, most likely
derived from the use of the leaves of the añil. The actual recipe to reproduce Maya Blue
pigment was published in 1993 by a Mexican Historian and Chemist,
Constantino Reyes-Valerio.
The combination of different of clays: palygorskite, montmorillonite, together with the use
of the leaves of the añil and
the actual process is described in Reyes-Valerio (1993).[6]
Reyes-Valerio's contributions were possible due to his combined
background of History and Chemistry, through a thorough revision of
primary texts (Sahagun, Hernandez. Jimenez and others), microscopic
analysis of the mural paintings and Fourier Transform Infrared
Spectroscopy.
After the formula for the production was published in the book
"De Bonampak al Templo Mayor: Historia del Azul Maya en
Mesoamerica" there were many developments in the chemical analysis
of the pigment in collaborations between Reyes-Valerio with
European Scientists.[7]
Uses
in cultural contexts
Pre-Columbian American Culture
See also
Notes
- ^
Arnold (2005); Haude (1997).
- ^
Haude (1997); Reyes-Valerio (1993).
- ^
Chiari(2000)
- ^
Sanchez del Rio(2006)
- ^
Gettens, R. J. Am. Antiq. 1962, 27,
557-564
- ^
Reyes-Valerio, De Bonampak al Templo Mayor, La historia del
Azul Maya en Mesoamerica, Siglo XXI Editores, 1993.
- ^
notably, Giaccomo Chiari [1] from the
University of Torino, David Ajò from C.N.R. of Padua and Manuel
Sanchez del Rio [2] from ESRF [3] in France
- ^
Greg Borzo's press release, 26-Feb-2008 [4] (update when
the actual study comes out)
References
- Arnold, Dean E. (2005).
"Maya Blue and Palygorskite:A second possible pre-Columbian
source". Ancient Mesoamerica 16:
pp.51–62. doi:10.1017/S0956536105050078.
- Arnold, Dean E.; and Bruce F.
Bohor (1975). "Attapulgite and Maya Blue: an Ancient Mine
Comes to Light". Archaeology 28 (1):
pp.23–29.
- Chiari, Giaccomo; and R. Giustetto, C.
Reyes-Valerio, G. Richiardi (2000). "Maya Blue Pigment: A
Palygorskite-Indigo complex". XXX Congresso Associazione
Italiana di Cristallografia 48 (1):
pp.115.
- M. SÁNCHEZ DEL RÍO, P. MARTINETTO,
C. REYES-VALERIO, E. DOORYHÉE, M. SUÁREZ (2006). "Synthesis and Acid
Resistance of Maya Blue Pigment". Archeometry
48 (1): p.115. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4754.2006.00246.x. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118626419/abstract.
- M. Sánchez del Río, P. Martinetto,
C. Solís, and C. Reyes-Valerio (2006). "PIXE analysis on
Maya blue in Prehispanic and colonial mural paintings". Nuclear
Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam
Interactions with Materials and Atoms 249
(1-2): p.628–632. doi:10.1016/j.nimb.2006.03.069.
- M. Sanchez del Rio, A. Sodo, S. G.
Eeckhout, T. Neisius, P. Martinetto, E. Dooryhée and C.
Reyes-Valerio (2005). "Fe K-edge XANES of Maya blue
pigment". Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research
Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms
238 (1-4): p.50–54. doi:10.1016/j.nimb.2005.06.017.
- M. Sanchez del Rio, P. Martinetto,
A. Somogyi, C. Reyes-Valerio, E. Dooryhée, N. Peltier, L.
Alianelli, B. Moignard, L. Pichon, T. Calligaro, J.-C. Dran
(2004). "Microanalysis study of archaeological mural samples
containing Maya blue pigment". Spectrochimica Acta Part B:
Atomic Spectroscopy 59: p.1619–1625. doi:10.1016/j.sab.2004.07.027.
- Haude, Mary Elizabeth
(1997). "Identification and
Classification of Colorants Used During Mexico's Early Colonial
Period". The Book and Paper Group Annual
16. ISSN 0887-8978. http://aic.stanford.edu/sg/bpg/annual/v16/bp16-05.html. Retrieved
2007-03-14.
- Reyes-Valerio, Constantino
(1993). De Bonampak al Templo
Mayor: El azul maya en Mesoamérica. Mexico D.F.: Siglo XXI
editores. ISBN
968-23-1893-9. http://www.azulmaya.com/bonampak/index.php. Retrieved
2007-03-16.
(Spanish)
External
links
- Azul Maya, descriptive site by Reyes-Valerio
(Spanish)
(English)
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