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I was first introduced to Jaina-style Maya figurines when I visited the Museo Nacional de Antropología in 2018, and since then I’ve been entranced by them. Aesthetic appreciation of their naturalistic expressions and poses, detailed clothing, use of molds and hand-sculpting, and bright pigments aside, they provide a fascinating window into understanding the culture, lives, and funerary practices of the Maya during the Late Classic period (ca. 600–800 CE).
These objects are spread out in museums around the world, and in beginning this project, I was excited about the possibility of pulling together a large set for study. How could projects like this support art historians and archaeologists hoping to study and better understand history through material culture? How might it help museums share information with other museums and the public?
A note about gender. When a museum shares information about the assumed gender of a figurine, I’ve marked it in the title and subject values of the object. However, gender identities can be difficult to discern for past cultures, and much of our understanding of past cultures is influenced by modern assumptions. It’s possible that our understanding of Maya gender identities and the genders of these figurines will change in the future, but I hope that making current assumed gender identities available now will support exploration and analysis.
—Tess Porter, MS Museums and Digital Culture Student