The years of excavations in the royal palace have provided interesting discoveries in this magnificent architectural complex, although its rich decorations in stucco reliefs are without any doubt the most impressive aspect. With the aid of conservation specialists, excavation and recovery of stucco sculpture has focused in the Building of the Portraits, whose name came from the many human figures made of stucco that once stood in its façades. Every single part of the building was covered with stucco sculptures that had fallen over the staircases and other exterior features.
The Building of the Portraits was completely covered by stucco sculptures
Portraits of Kings
The most important pieces recovered are the human relief sculptures made of stone and stucco, which decorated the upper part of each door. These have impressive headdresses with a central deity motif, surrounded with feathers and other abstract designs. The rest of the body, up to the waist, was adorned with chest pendants, necklaces, wrist bracelets and other ornaments typical of the Maya royalty. The faces, hands and other parts of the body were executed with a skill that matches the finest features seen in Maya art elsewhere. At the moment, the researchers believe that the portraits represent different kings of the Cancuen dynasty, given that the five ones recovered up to now show different facial features and headdress motifs, indicating that the artist might have wanted to emphasize the individual appearance of each. The portraits, larger than life size, were located originally in the main south entrance from outside and inside the Patio, one above each doorway.
Recovery of stucco sculptures
The Building of the Portraits served as the main southern entrance to the royal palace, thus the combination of a frieze of elaborated scenes, abstract motifs, and the royal portraits would have impressed any visitor. The meaning of this iconographic compound reflected the function of the Palace as an instrument of power. The importance of the Building of the Portraits is seen in the extraordinary decoration of its exterior walls and the murals inside the central corridor. As the main entrance for important visitors, the monumentality and artistic quality of this building represented the prestige and achievements of the Cancuen dynasty.
