【王の拓本】アステカやマヤ文明の遺跡

This artwork was transported to Japan from its site of origin ４０ years ago.

It is a rubbing (an impression made by transferring an image) depicting a king, taken from the ruins of Palenque—a site of the ancient Maya civilization in Mexico. It is highly likely to be a rubbing from the ruins of either the Aztec or Maya civilization. The image shows a figure resembling a god or king wearing an elaborate headdress, surrounded by ancient Mexican characters (glyphs). Although it resembles a solid-black print framed in wood, it is actually a valuable record created by taking an impression directly from the ruins. Such rubbings—made by placing paper against stone monuments or temple walls and transferring the image with ink—are collected both as works of art and as research materials.