Resist
Mexico/West Mexico
200-900 CE
Epiclassic
Negative Polychrome
While many types across Northwestern Mesoamerica are classified as negative wares, an important distinction must be made between the decorative techniques termed negative and resist. Shepard (1985:206) defines resist painting as a decorative technique of “painting the figure with a temporary protective material, applying an allover coat or wash of darker color, and subsequently removing the protective material to expose the figures in the surface color of the vessel.” She goes on to state that the term negative should be reserved for describing “the effect of ratio of dark and light in painting and not the method of applying paint” (Shepard 1985:296). Our interpretation of the decorative technique used to achie...
West Mexican resist wares were decorated by applying a protective coat in the appropriate design layout, over a light-colored background. A carbon-based colorant was then added to the entire surface of the vessel. It may have been applied by smudging. If this were the case then the protective coat must have been clay, resin, or another substance resistant to melting when heated. Another likely possibility is that the carbon-based colorant may have been rubbed or painted on to the surface o...
