The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 19, 2024

Mural Fragment with Elite Male and Maguey Cactus Leaves

Mural Fragment with Elite Male and Maguey Cactus Leaves

500–550

Did You Know?

This fragment is from a larger composition that covered the walls of a patio at Teotihuacan.

Description

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, a less refined form of tequila). The spines are thrust into objects that may represent bundles or plots of land.
  • ?-1963
    Black Tulip Gallery, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1963-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
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  • {{cite web|title=Mural Fragment with Elite Male and Maguey Cactus Leaves|url=false|author=|year=500–550|access-date=19 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1963.252