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ca. 400–600
Volcanic ash, lime, mineral pigment, and mud backing
1985.104.4
Like most representations of Teotihuacan elite, this figure is in profile and is magnificently dressed in a huge feathered headdress, a feather back ornament, and a conch-shell necklace.
A supplicant to a deity, the figure holds a bag for incense and pours a stream of liquid ornamented with flowers. A speech scroll enclosing shells and edged with glyphs issues from his open mouth. The thorn-edged maguey plant leaves may be abstract symbols for agricultural fields, for bundles of tied sticks representing a fifty-two year cycle, or for a grass mat into which the bloody thorns used in penitential rites were set. Serpents are common framing devices for murals of elite figures.