UpDate - Vol. 14, No. 17, Page 3
January 19, 1995
Interdisciplinary research; Student's work combines art and sciences

     Interdisciplinary takes on a new meaning when Jose Alvarez
discusses his research.
     An analytical chemist from the University of Puerto Rico, he will
receive another bachelor's degree from the University for his work on
Peruvian Shipibo pottery, which involves physics, anthropology,
research at the Winterthur Museum and, of course, chemistry.
     His co-investigators are Peter Roe, professor of anthropology;
Charles Swann, professor emeritus of the Bartol Research Institute,
and Alberto Tagle, adjunct associate professor of art conservation
from Winterthur Museum.
     Alvarez' research involving Shipibo pottery has won him
invitations to two international and one national scholarly meetings.
In May, he participated in a poster session at the Material Research
Society meeting in Mexico. In October, with a grant from the Centro de
Investigaciones Indigenas de Puerto Rico Inc., he made a presentation
on "Materials in Native American Shipibo Pottery," in Berlin, at the
4th International Conference: Non-Destructive Testing of Works of Art,
and his paper will be published in the proceedings. He gave another
presentation, entitled "Chemical Analysis of Ceramic and Pigment
Components in the Cumancaya-Shipibo Pottery Tradition," at the
November Eastern Analytical Symposium in New Jersey.
     Shipibo pottery created by the women of the Shipibo tribe near
the Peruvian Amazon is the among the finest ethnic pottery made,
Alvarez said. It is highly prized and found in major museums, but some
of the Shipibo pottery pieces are forgeries which makes Alvarez'
research even more germane.
     The tradition of making Shipibo pottery dates back to the ninth
century when ancestors of the Shipibo, the Cumancaya, began developing
the process. Using clay or terra-cotta from the area and a coiling
technique, the skilled potters come within a millimeter of making the
mouths of their vessels perfect circles. They then decorate the
vessels with natural minerals, such as iron oxide or hematite, or
apply kaolin, a kind of white clay, before the vessel is fired. While
the pottery is still hot, resin from palms is applied to seal the
surfaces, which gives the pieces a shiny finish. The pieces are used
for special ceremonial occasions.
     As Alvarez wrote in his paper presented in Berlin, "Famous for
their system of complex polychrome geometric pre-fire painted
decoration, the Shipibo, produce technically and aesthetically, the
most advanced native American ceramic art that continues to exist."
     Although the pottery had been analyzed by style and shape,
Alvarez was the first to do a chemical analysis. Roe had brought back
many examples of Shipibo pottery from Peru, including shards before
and after firing, and a sample of the resin. Alvarez uses these for
his work to determine the chemical composition of the clays, pigments
and resins used by Shipibo.
     The University is well-positioned to carry out this kind of
research because of its facilities and cooperative programs with local
museums, Alvarez said.
     Alvarez, who has worked for Mobil and at Brookhaven National
Laboratory, is planning to attend graduate school and continue his
research in materials science applied to works of art. Another goal is
to someday visit the Upper Amazon, where Shipibo pottery has its
origins.
                                                   -Sue Swyers Moncure