Specialists are like librarians. They know everything. At least they handle information well. The rest of us can only keep our eyes open and hope for the best. 
Example: a visit to the Library of Congress in Washington DC. The LOC’s small collection of pottery in their “Exploring the Early Americas” exhibit included an 8” straight sided vessel from the Guatemalan lowland Maya circa 600 ad. This slab-made earthenware pot has a base coat of burnished white slip. A black swath runs at an angle up the side, encompassing two lilies daubed in red. The swath ends near the top below an encircling inscription, or “primary standard sequence glyph band.” The rim is also banded in black.
European fleur-de-lis, symbol of royal prerogative, closely echo the ancient flowers depicted on this pot. Did Mayan lilies also imply noble aspirations? Lilies regularly appeared on lowland Mayan pottery. And much surviving Mayan pottery suggests commemorative usage, particularly suitable for the high-born who could afford such niceties. But nobody knows what – if anything – lilies represented.
The ‘glyph band’ inscription says the pot was a drinking cup. While the inscription is also a dedication, it oddly names no specific individual or event. Maybe the cup was just something a typical Mayan ‘chicha bar’ kept on hand for whatever toast a drunken patron might shout out. Or perhaps was it a generic ‘gift’ mug, somewhat like a blank greeting card. Or a tourist-trade item for folks visiting the big city.
Several other Mayan pots in the exhibit had clear but totally meaningless glyphs. They seemed to offer just the ‘idea’ of writing. Why? So illiterate customers could feel a little more highbrow? Could the potter then charge more, explaining a deeper meaning? Did the potter also not understand what glyphs meant?
In this context the lily cup reminds me of certain modern marketing practices. I’m not sure how to feel about that notion. Is it a comforting example of how the more things change the more they stay the same? Is it ironic? Or is it somehow just disappointing?
This Day in Pottery History 