UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Jaina Figurines: The Survey, Characterization of Materials, and Treatment of Figures from the Fowler Museum Collection Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5m16814g Author Tzadik, Carinne Publication Date 2014 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Jaina Figurines: The Survey, Characterization of Materials, and Treatment of Figures from the Fowler Museum Collection A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials by Carinne Chava TzadiK 2014 ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS Jaina Figurines: The Survey, Characterization of Materials, and Treatment of Figures from the Fowler Museum Collection By Carinne Chava TzadiK Master of Arts in Conservation of Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials University of California, Los Angeles, 2014 Professor Christian Fischer, Chair The ancient Maya civilization, inhabiting a territory that spanned through the Yucatán peninsula, Guatemala, Belize, and parts of Honduras and El Salvador, for over three millennia is responsible for great artistic and architectural achievements. Their legacy includes the production of ceramic figurines, some of the most famous being those Known as Jaina figurines, and the invention of a blue pigment called Maya blue. The aim of this study was to view and organize a full holding of Jaina figurines within a museum collection while assessing their condition, evaluate the potential of non-invasive analytical techniques, and provide examples of treatment types that are required by the current condition of figurines in the collection. Using x- ray fluorescence (XRF), Ultraviolet/Visible/Near Infrared reflectance spectroscopy (UV/Vis/NIR) and x-ray diffraction (XRD), analysis was conducted on the clay body and pigments utilized in the ii manufacture of 92 Jaina figurines from the Fowler Museum collection. Treatment protocols were also established based on the needs of the figurines studied in order to facilitate the expedient stabilization of the collection. iii The thesis of Carinne Chava TzadiK is approved. Ioanna KaKoulli Richard Lesure Vanessa Muros Christian Fischer, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2014 iv Table of Contents List of Tables and Figures …………………………………………………………………………………….3 1. Introduction.............................................................................................................4 1.1 The Maya................................................................................................................................................................4 1.1.1 Historical Overview ........................................................................................................................................4 1.1.2 Maya Burial Practices ...................................................................................................................................5 1.2. Jaina Island...........................................................................................................................................................7 1.2.1 Site Information...............................................................................................................................................7 1.2.2 Archaeological Record..................................................................................................................................9 1.3 Maya and Jaina Figurines............................................................................................................................. 11 1.3.1 Jaina vs. Jaina-style......................................................................................................................................13 1.3.2 Styles, Function and Variation ...............................................................................................................15 1.3.3 Maya Blue Pigment......................................................................................................................................18 1.4 Project Goals...................................................................................................................................................... 21 2. Characterization of Materials .................................................................................21 2.1 Experimental Procedures............................................................................................................................ 21 2.1.1 X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Spectroscopy............................................................................................21 2.1.2 Ultraviolet/Visible/Near infrared (UV/Vis/NIR) Spectroscopy ..............................................22 2.1.3 X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) ............................................................................................................................23 2.2 Results and Discussion.................................................................................................................................. 23 2.2.1 Clay Body..........................................................................................................................................................23 2.2.2 Pigments...........................................................................................................................................................31 2.2.3 Maya Blue ........................................................................................................................................................33 1 3. Condition Survey....................................................................................................35 3.1 Nature of The Fowler Museum and Its Collection............................................................................. 35 3.2 Aims of the Survey .......................................................................................................................................... 36 3.3 Methodology...................................................................................................................................................... 36 3.4 Creation of Database and Survey Form ................................................................................................. 38 3.5 Results and Discussion.................................................................................................................................. 38 4. Conservation of Five Selected Figurines..................................................................40 4.1 Selection of Objects......................................................................................................................................... 40 4.2 Desalination Treatments.............................................................................................................................. 42 4.3 Retreatment of Objects ................................................................................................................................. 45 5. Conclusion .............................................................................................................46 6. Appendices ............................................................................................................49 Appendix A: X-ray diffraction spectra……………………………………………………………………………..49 Appendix B: X-ray fluorescence data..............................................................................................................53 Appendix C: Table of prominent Maya blue UV/Vis/NIR absorptions.............................................65 Appendix D: Survey Forms..................................................................................................................................67 Appendix E: Treatment Reports........................................................................................................................69 7. References............................................................................................................108 . 2 List of Tables and Figures Figure 1: Map of major sites in the Maya area including Jaina island, Campeche, and Jonuta…… 8 Figure 2: Graph showing the three distinct groups of chromium levels in the ceramic Body…… 24 Figure 3: 3D plot showing groupings Based on calcium, iron, and silicon contents in the ceramic body………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 25 Figure 4: Si-Cr bivariate plot showing 3 distinct groups based on Cr levels in ceramic body…….. 26 Figure 5: Graph showing the relationship between the calcium content and potassium content in the ceramic paste …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 27 Figure 6: Example of a figurine with elevated mercury levels and no red pigment …………………. 29 Figure 7: XRF data showing the percentage of chlorine and sulfur present in the clay body of each sample…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 30 Table 1: Results of XRD analysis………………………………………………………………………………………………. 33 Figure 8: UV/Vis/NIR spectra of reference and sample Maya blue…………………………………………… 35 Table 2: TaBle defining the condition issues of the figurines as applied to the survey……………… 39 Figure 9: Before treatment images of oBject X76.722 and X91.2269……………………………………….. 41 3 1. Introduction 1.1 The Maya 1.1.1 Historical Overview The Maya, one of the great cultures of Mesoamerica, has fascinated