This serpentine mask exemplifies the interaction between Teotihuacan and the Pacific Coast of

Guatemala during the Early Classic period. Although closely related to the well-known lapidary

corpus of Teotihuacan, its stylistic features reflect a local idiom characteristic of the

Tiquisate/Escuintla region.

The mask diverges from the standardized canons of Teotihuacan lapidary art in several respects.

Central Mexican examples typically display rigidly geometric forms, flat planes, impassive

expressions, and broad rectangular earflares intended to accommodate inlays or ornaments. By

contrast, this specimen shows:

- More naturalistic modeling, evident in the full, rounded lips and softly contoured cheeks.

- A less angular nasal profile, with a bulbous tip rather than a straight, geometric ridge.

- Reduced and perforated ears, with small circular drill holes, unlike the broad, flat earflares of

Teotihuacan masks.

- Distinctive stone choice, a strongly veined green-and-black serpentine consistent with sources

in the Motagua Valley and Pacific piedmont, widely exploited in Escuintla lapidary workshops.

These traits align the piece with regional production on the Pacific Slope, where Teotihuacan

iconography and ritual forms were selectively appropriated and transformed. Comparable masks,

sharing similar expressive qualities and stone types, are held in the Museo Popol Vuh and Museo

Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología (Guatemala City), as well as in international collections such

as LACMA and Dumbarton Oaks. They demonstrate the degree to which Teotihuacan artistic

conventions were not merely imitated but reinterpreted within local traditions (Parsons 1986, p. 142;

Berlo 1989, p. 75; Bove 2002, pp. 55–58).

In this sense, the mask constitutes an important example of the regionalization of Teotihuacan

styles, highlighting both the cultural reach of central Mexican models and the creativity of local

lapidary practice in the Pacific Guatemala sphere.

References

- Berlo, Janet Catherine. Early Writing in Central America: Inscriptions and Painted Texts from

Pre-Columbian Guatemala and Mexico. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1989.

- Bove, Frederick J. The Cerro de las Mesas and the Pacific Coast of Guatemala: Interaction and

Cultural Change in the Early Classic Period. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Latin American

Archaeology Publications, 2002.

- Parsons, Lee A. The Origins of Maya Art: Monumental Stone Sculpture of Kaminaljuyú,

Guatemala, and the Southern Pacific Coast. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 1986.