Mural Fragment with Elite Male and Maguey Cactus Leaves500–550 · Study 1963.252

Context from the museum

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.

Museum description reproduced from its CC0 open-access record. Read the original catalog entry.

A detail to notice

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

Observation supplied by the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Read the dimensions before the image

The selected overall measurement for Mural Fragment with Elite Male and Maguey Cactus Leaves is 116.2 cm wide and 83.2 cm high, equivalent to approximately 45.7 × 32.8 inches. Dividing width by height gives a format ratio of 1.40:1. The rectangular bounding area is 0.97 square meters; it describes the measured footprint, not the amount of paint or the monetary value.

On an illustrative 300 cm wall, the recorded width occupies 38.7% of the span before adding a frame. A centered placement leaves approximately 91.9 cm on each side before adding a frame. These are calculations by Physical Art For Crypto using museum measurements. They are not the museum’s display recommendations.

Questions to bring to your own collection

With Mural Fragment with Elite Male and Maguey Cactus Leaves in view, identify one feature you can point to, then distinguish what the museum records from your personal response. Keep its medium, fresco on wall fragment, in your notes when comparing contemporary works.

• Which part of this horizontal composition catches your eye first?
• Would a 116.2 cm width still suit the space after allowing for furniture and a frame?
• What surface detail would you need to see in person or in a close photograph?