Vintage Framed Palenque Temple Rubbing of a Royal Mayan Male (Chiapas, Mexico). Size: approx. 17” x 26”. This temple rubbing was created in 1967 (signed & dated in the upper left corner), shortly before temple rubbings were banned by the Mexican government. The practice of producing charcoal rubbings from Pre-Columbian temple walls was outlawed in the late 1960’s to prevent further surface erosion. This piece is an impression from the “Tablet of the Slaves” scene on the wall of an ancient Mayan pyramid in ancient Palenque, which was hidden under a Hispanic church dating to 1730 AD. In the composition, the head of the young royal figure depicts the true Classic Maya-deformed head, sloping forehead, almond-shaped eyes, large nose, slightly dropping lip and receding chin. Provenance: From a private NYC collection. Purchased in Pueblo, Mexico in the early 1970s.