Among the Classic Maya (3rd-10th century), painting was an integral form of aesthetic expression. The principal surviving examples of Classic Maya painting are found on ceramics. Other forms, such as painting on walls, building exteriors, cloth, and bark paper have not survived the destructive forces of time, the environment, and the sixteenth-century conquest. Maya painted ceramics were created for royalty. Lords used them as "social currency" and exchanged them as gifts. Painted ceramics are found in elite funerary contexts and some imagery is associated with concepts about death and the underworld as recounted in the epic Maya myth, the Popol Vuh. Messages encoded in Maya painted ceramics conveyed history and ideology as well as prestige. Classic Maya painted ceramics were the works of master painters, their ateliers, and workshops. Ceramic painting was guided by a set of conventions. On cylinder containers, many compositions were wrapped around the vessel exterior. These narrative compositions required more skill because the painter could only work a small section at a time. Moreover, ceramics were painted freehand without the use of stencils. Profile views of human predominate. Frontal views, especially of the face were avoided because a depth of field could not be achieved. Ceramic painting styles are broadly distinguished between a polychrome variety and a codex variety of which black, red, and cream slips paints predominate (Figures 1-2). The codex variety is considered a major tradition of the Late Classic (6th-10th century). This style of ceramic painting is thought to closely resemble the appearance of Maya books or codices. Codex ceramics were created in workshops at and around the site of Nakbé at the border of Mexico and Guatemala. Codex vases are considered among the most prestigious portable art. The narrative compositions depicted on their surfaces are recognized as vignettes of royal history and mythological events absent from other media. Since all but a few Maya codices (painted books) have been destroyed, this form of painted ceramic fills a critical gap in our understanding of Maya history and beliefs. According to Reents-Budet (1994:219) codex vessels were formed and painted by different specialists. Often the painting is excellent but the vessel is poorly formed.