Quadrangle of the Nuns.

Chichen Itza. Yucatan. Mexico. Merida. Circa 1910.

Vintage photograph on gelatin silver paper with white margins. Measurements: 13 x 18 cm / 5.11 x 7.08 in. In front on the lower edge and printed on the negative, we place the handwritten legend: “Nº 92 - Nuns - Chichen Itzá - Yuc” and “Fot. Badía ”. On the back of the work and on the upper left margin we find the advertising of the photographic house through a wet stamp in black ink: “Cine - Foto Badía- Cinematography and Industrial and Commercial Photography. 87 x 58 - Merida. Yuc. Mex ”. The original work is loose and we exhibit it framed. In very good condition.

The archaeological photographic view shows us the so-called East Chamber of the "Las Monjas" complex in Chichén Itzá. It is the most luxurious and elegant facade of that pre-Hispanic complex. It consists of a plinth formed by two projecting moldings and a central strip decorated with columns. There is also a central door framed by curved noses of the ancient rain god Chac. On each side there are four masks of the same god, two of them superimposed at the corners; and in the upper molding formed by zigzag bars that give the impression of being a snake. This building possibly had a shield on the front of the facade. There is a hieroglyphic inscription on the door lintel that has been calculated around the year 880, according to the Katún indigenous time unit account. The impressive ensemble is considered purely Mayan (Puuc style) and one of the most representative of that culture.

The set recorded by the photographer Salvador Badía shows us by its context, that the area has not yet been restored or cleaned, so the photograph probably dates from the first decades of the 20th century. Seven explorers pose in front of the monumental entrance. It is interesting to note that the first camera to record this monumental Mayan complex was that of the famous French explorer Joseph Désiré Charnay in 1863.

S.O-XIV-GBM