Maya blue paint

Fig. 3.25 Maya blue painting from Calakmul, late classical period. Photograph by M Kuisa Vazquez de Agredos Pascual...

Jose-Yacaman M, Rendon L, Arenas J, Serra Puche MC (1997) Maya blue paint an ancient nano structured material. Science 273 223-224. 

Fois, E., Gamba, A., and Tilocca, A. 2003. On the unusual stability of Maya blue paint Molecular dynamics simulations. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials 57, 263-272. 

Jose-Yacaman, M., Rendon, L., Arenas, J., and Serra Puche, M.C. 1996. Maya blue paint An ancient nanostructured material. Science 273, 223-224. 

In addition to these natural examples, synthetic nanocomposites have been in use since early civilization. The concept of enhancing the properties of materials by introducing nanofiHers can be traced back to as early as 100 BC. The bright color and corrosion resistance of the Maya blue paint has been attributed to its nature as an organoday nanocomposite. 

The value of voltammetric studies of immobilized microparticles for investigating objects of art was demonstrated by the group of Domenech-Carbo in Valencia. These authors described the analysis of Maya Blue, which had been used in wall paintings found at several archeological sites at Campeche and Yucatan in Mexico [58-62]. Figure 6.31 shows a wall painting from the Early Classical Maya period. The Maya... 

Among many technological marvels from that era is a pigment known as Maya Blue. This startling, turquoise-like color was used extensively by the Maya for many purposes (Fig. 6.3). The Maya used the pigment for paint that was applied to sculpture, wall murals and pottery, among other objects. They also used the pigment to color the bodies of sacrificial victims before they were thrown into sacred wells or had their hearts cut out at temple altars. 

Fig. 6.3 Maya mural painting depicting a ball player against a background of Maya Blue...

Apart from these few examples, most nanostruc-tured materials are synthetic. Empirical methods for the manufacture of stained glasses have been known for centuries. It is now well established that these methods make use of the diffusion-controlled growth of metal nanoparticles. The geometrical constraints on the electron motion and the electromagnetic field distribution in noble-metal nanoparticles lead to the existence of a particular collective oscillation mode, called the plasmon oscillation, which is responsible for the coloration of the material. It has been noticed recently that the beautiful tone of Maya blue, a paint often used in Mesoamer-ica, involves simultaneously metal nanoparticles and a superlattice organization [3.1]. 

Maya blue was widely used for painting on murals, sculptures, ceramics and textiles by the Mayans (Roundhill et al., 1994 cf. Balfour Paul, 1998), and Kleber indicates that it was also used by the Toltecs, Mixtecs and the Aztecs. 

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