Rubbing

T2018.5.107

Until our 2018–2020 inventory project, we had no idea our collections included stunning monumental rubbings by one of the towering figures of Maya archaeology. Merle Greene Robertson was an artist, adventurer, and pioneering Maya epigrapher. She developed a sophisticated technique for recording the complex, 3D surface reliefs Maya artists carved onto stelae and architectural elements during the Classic Period (ca. 250–900 CE). Beginning in the 1960s, a time when women were rarely active in Central American archaeology, Robertson recorded pieces across the Yucatan Peninsula at iconic Maya sites including Palenque, Bonampak, and Chichen Itza. She was further instrumental in creating a community of scholars in founding professional organizations, which led to key breakthroughs deciphering the Maya hieroglyphic script. SUAC holds two rubbings by Robertson, Stela 2 from Dos Pilas in northern Guatemala and Stela 15 from Nim Li Punit in southern Belize, both Classic Period sites. These examples exemplify Robertson's attention to accuracy. Through painstaking artistry, her works often preserve details on the stone that have since disappeared through weathering and looting. SUAC's rubbings were found in storage in 2018, but information found with them suggest they were donated to Stanford by Robertson or her son, David Greene, in the 1980s.

W–3.1 L–6.07 feet

Organic/Paper/Ink

Found in collections 2018. Apparently donated to Stanford University by Merle Greene Robertson or her son, David Greene, in the 1980s.

Anthropology