Mural Fragment with Elite Male and Maguey Cactus Leaves
Unknown Artist
500–550
Medium
fresco on wall fragment
Dimensions
{"overall":{"height":0.832,"width":1.162}}
Classification
Painting
Department
Art of the Americas
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1963.252
About this artwork
This richly dressed elite male belonged to a row of identical figures who processed along the walls of a patio in one of Teotihuacán’s wealthy apartment compounds. He offers a chant or prayer, materialized in a mouth scroll, along with a flower-filled libation that cascades from one hand. In the other hand, he carries an incense bag. The thorny spines of the maguey cactus, in front and behind, may allude to the offering of precious blood and a ritual beverage made from the cactus’s sap (pulque, ...