‘Maya blue’: The mystery dye recreated two centuries after it was lost

A ceramicist in Mexico retraces his Maya roots to recreate a long-lost pre-Hispanic pigment for the first time in more than two centuries. “Maya blue required an intricate method of manufacturing synthesis of various substances and elements, such as extracting dye from ch’oj before precipitating it onto special clay called palygorskite,” says Vazquez, who spent two years in Mexico completing a thesis on optimising electrochemical techniques to identify pre-Hispanic organic colourants, which focused on the indigo plant. To make Maya blue, May places ch’oj leaves in alkaline water – using lime or ash – for 24 hours in a concrete vat at his home. “Maya blue represents my roots, and I’m delighted to be involved in a project that pays tribute to Maya heritage,” he says enthusiastically, taking a break and resting his sickle on his knee. “Maya blue is a beautiful colour, and it is a wonderful thing that Luis was able to rediscover it.” Despite his significant discovery, May’s work remains a solo project, without affiliation or funding from national authorities – his only financial aid was a one-year grant in 2021 from the Santo Domingo Centre of Excellence for Latin American Research department of the British Museum in London.