Temple of The Inscriptions - Piers - Coloration

Coloration

Although much of the color on the piers has deteriorated, some is still visible today. Originally, the piers would have been extraordinarily colorful. Bright red, yellow, and blue would have been seen on their stucco sculpture. A thin coat of light red paint would have been applied to all of the stucco sculpture as a sort of background coloring while the stucco was still wet, binding the color to the building. Because the temple was repeatedly repainted, one can observe layers of pigment between layers of stucco. The color blue signified the Heavens and the Gods and would have been applied to things relating to the gods, as well as the glyphic texts on the sculpture. The color yellow related to Xibalba, the Maya underworld, which was associated with jaguars, so the jaguar skirts were colored accordingly.

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