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Mural with feathered serpent and flowering trees

ca. 600–700
Volcanic ash, lime, mineral pigment, and mud backing
1985.104.1a–b

The feathered serpent and flowering trees murals came from a single room at Techinantitla. It is likely that the murals repeated, one serpent and a set of trees appearing on each of the room’s four walls. These murals were located on the lower interior walls, as indicated by the forward curve of the bottom portion of the mural where it would have met the floor.

The serpent’s mouth is open, and water, or “eyes of the gods,” pours out over the flowering trees below. The serpent’s tail turns up like that of a rattlesnake, although the rattle tail is missing on this example.

Each tree that appears below the long body of the serpent has a different glyph symbol at its base. These motifs include the “platform-eye,” the “mask-step,” and the “feathered eye-blue drop.”  The presence of these glyphs suggests that each flowering tree may have represented a specific district within the city of Teotihuacan.

To make the mural’s striking green color, Teotihuacan craftsmen used a mineral rock called malachite. They ground the malachite into a granular powder and mixed it with water. This mixture was then applied with a brush to the plaster surface.
 
Some green areas look blotchy and uneven because the granules of color did not flow evenly off their paint brushes, leaving some areas with only a very light wash of green. This indicates that the Teotihuacan craftsmen had a sophisticated knowledge of mineral pigments, as they were apparently aware that if they ground the rock too finely it would loose its bright green color and look gray. The color no longer looks bright green because over time the pigment has reacted with the air and become darkened.