Mural

Murals were one of the most important forms of expression for the inhabitants of Teotihuacan. Public buildings and residential compounds were painted with complex compositions. Artists created these vibrant, colorful images by applying mineral pigments to damp lime plaster. 

The supernatural being pictured here wears an elaborate feathered headdress, beaded necklace, and a platform-like skirt made of jade beads, triangles, and feathers. It has no eyes and no clear face; instead, the ambiguous center is occupied by a pair of waterlilies and a teeth-filled mouth from which speech scrolls replete with flowers emerge. Ferocious claws with jade and feather cuffs dominate the image, a reminder of the forces of divine power.