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THE MAYAN CIVILIZATION 81 
the dress of man is seated in a wreathe of water lilies. 
After the vessel had been formed, but before it had been 
fired, this design was made by cutting away the back- 
ground and incising finer details on the original surfaces. 
Other designs in relief were obtained by direct modeling 
or by stamping. ‘The stamps were moulds or negatives 
made from bas-relief patterns. 
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Fig. 26. Mayan Basket represented in Stone 
Sculpture. 
The textile arts of the ancient Mayas can be recovered 
in part from a study of the monuments since the designs 
on many garments are reproduced in delicate relief. 
The designs are mostly all-over geometric patterns, 
but borders reproducing the typical “‘celestial band,” 
a line of astronomical symbols, are also seen. The 
techniques of brocade and lace were understood by the 
ancient weavers. In the minor textile art of basketry 
the products must also have ranked high; a typical 
basket pictured on a lintel is given in Fig. 26. 
Jade and other semi-precious stones were carved by 
the Mayas into beautiful and fantastic shapes. There 
was a considerable use of mosaic veneer on masks and 
other ceremonial objects. Metal was rare and could 
not be used for tools, but the working of gold and copper 
in the manufacture of ornaments was on a high plane. 
