Mural Fragment Depicting a Maguey Bloodletting Ritual

500–600 CE

The ancient Mexican city of Teotihuacan was once the largest city in the Americas. Its pyramid facades and palace interiors were frequently decorated with splendid frescoes. This fragment was part of a cycle painted on the interior walls of an aristocratic palace. It shows a rain priest with a speech-scroll adorned with seashells and plants, indicating a prayer for water and agricultural prosperity.

Public domain · CC0
Free to download and reuse. Image courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.

Artist

Teotihuacan Tlacuilapaxco apartment compound, Teotihuacán, Mexico

Date

500–600 CE

Medium

Lime plaster with mineral pigment

Dimensions

63.8 × 95 cm (25 × 37 1/2 in.)

Origin

Teotihuacán

Collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Credit

Ada Turnbull Hertle Endowment Fund