TWO SIDES OF MAYAN MYTH ARTIFICATS AT LACMA TELL STORIES OF HISTORY, SHADY ACQUISITION.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

``Lords of Creation: The Origins of Sacred Maya Kingship,'' at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, displays rarely seen works, from precious jewels to large altarpieces, that reflect the divine status of mortal kings thousands of years ago in southern Mexico and Central America.

At the same time, it raises awareness of the ongoing problem of looting and smuggling of antiquities from temples and tombs for quick cash.

Some 150 items are on display in LACMA's main galleries, about half of them never before shown in the United States. Some are relatively new discoveries.

``They're the result of very recent and ongoing research in archaeology and epigraphy,'' said art historian Virginia Fields, co-curator of the exhibit that was five years in the planning.

The artifacts include ceramics, some still richly pigmented, ceremonial objects, large stone carvings and massive pieces of jewelry in the Mayas' precious jade. The images, as explained in hieroglyphs understood only in the last 25 years or so, depict Mayan kings in poses or attire that show them as an earthly link to the gods of maize - often symbolized by a trefoil headdress - or the sun. Some pieces show the kings in a trancelike state when, it is said, they communicated with the deities to ensure good weather and bountiful harvests.

Archaelogist David Cheetham, who has explored and written about a number of Mayan sites, toured the press preview of the exhibit earlier this month. He said he found the array of antiquities impressive, but he was saddened to see so many objects that most likely were looted in the last century, a problem that was especially rampant in the 1930s and '40s. Museum visitors will recognize those by the nondescript points of origin on their signage, such as ``Guatemala, 500-400 BC,'' rather than the name of a particular temple, tomb or dig site.

A 1970 UNESCO pact, which became U.S. law in 1983, made illegal the buying, selling or trading of antiquities whose whereabouts since the law's passage are unclear. Many countries with rich archaeological histories also have laws prohibiting unauthorized transport of such relics.

Victoria Lyall, a curatorial assistant, said LACMA makes every attempt to abide by the law when deciding what to display.

Michael Love, a professor of anthropology at California State University, Northridge, estimated that only 20 percent of the pieces in ``Lords of Creation'' have a documented history of ownership and custody.

``I had that thought while I was walking through the exhibit: What if you tried to put together an exhibit that had only provenanced artifacts?'' he said. ``It would be difficult, it wouldn't have the flashiest pieces, and it wouldn't have the best-known pieces.''

Love said looting continues despite laws against it. Some of the raiders are trained archaeologists who leave behind properly dug trenches and then transfer the goods to private collectors in the United States or Europe.

``Looting is one of the most significant problems that archaeology faces. The sites are being destroyed faster than we can study them. And that's going on all over the world, not just in Mesoamerica.''

Valerie Kuklenski, [phone]

valerie.kuklenski(at)dailynews.com

LORDS OF CREATION: THE ORIGINS OF SACRED MAYA KINGSHIP

Where: LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles.

When: Noon to 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday; noon to 9 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; closed Wednesdays.Through Jan. 2.

Admission: $5 to $9, free after 5 p.m. Information: [phone] or www.lacma.org.

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