Painted Metaphors: Pottery and Politics of the Ancient Maya
Through January 3, 2011

I was able to see this exhibition at the McClung Museum at the University of Tennessee. The pieces were discovered in the site of Chama, Guatamala by archealogists from the Penn Museum The sites and the objects have been studied since the early 1900's. I have looked at and studied Mayan and Peruvian objects for years; but each time I go to an exhibition, there are new things to learn and fall in love with. The drawing and painting on the pieces are wonderful. The exhibition had very good texts to explan about the art and the culture of the people.

One of the most interesting part was the exhibition and video on how the pieces were cleaned and restored. The were pictures of the archeologiest and an artist from the early 1900's who made drawings of the pieces to document and to record where each piece was found. The drawings have been very important to make sure restorations are accurate. Restoration is an ongoing process as the technology improves. Fasinating!

Take the time to see the wonderful art objects and to see the exhibition and video about the restoration. I will be seeing this again!

- Sherrie