DOCUMENTATION, CLEANING, AND CONTAINERIZATION OF MAYA PAPER MOLDS
Paper molds in the Peabody Museum collection produced at Maya archaeological sites (in situ) in Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras date from 1880 and 1910. Sites represented include Yaxchilan, Chichen Itza, Piedras Negras, Uaxactun, Uxmal, Kabah, Xcalumkin, and Quirigua. Molds vary in size from 15 cm x 20cm to over 1.5 metres x 2.5 metres x 15 cm in depth. Between 1994 and 1997, the molds were photographed, examined, and surface cleaned.
The paper-molding techniques ("squeeze" and papier-mache) served to capture the most subtle surface features of low-relief carvings and were applicable to the replication of deep-cut wood and stone. The "squeeze" type were made by carefully pressing moistened paper sheets onto the cleaned relief carving, and by tamping firmly into the relief. Between some of the sheets a paste adhesive was applied with a wide brush, followed by additional sheets of thicker paper built up to provide a sturdy, relatively flat planar finish. When the mold was nearly dry, it was carefully removed from the stone. When thoroughly dry, the mold was coated on its image side with a drying oil and/or shellac to provide a moisture barrier and to prevent deformations or loss of the shallow details, and to protect against insect or mold damage on the relief side. The molds were then shipped to the Peabody Museum for subsequent replication in plaster cast. The shellac coating served as a water-vapor seal during the wet casting; this coating enabled additional castings from the same paper mold. Several of the plaster casts made at the turn of the century are currently on exhibition in the Museum's third floor installation, Encounters with the Americas.
Archival research into the Museum and University records has provided essential information on the manufacture of these paper objects. A full listing of the Museum's paper molds will be available soon, along with a technical study to be published in the near future. This project has involved more than 100 mold pieces and has required extensive organizational and conservation efforts of several pre-program conservation volunteers, graduate-level conservation interns, and the Museum's head conservator. The final step, now in process and near completion, is the construction of archival-quality stackable containers, light-weight and rigid, to ensure a protective and efficient storage and retrieval system.
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