Wagner Murals
Encyclopedia
The Wagner Murals are the name for over 70 mural
fragments illegally removed from the Pre-Columbian
site of Teotihuacán
in the 1960s.
, of the Teotihuacán Murals Project, has postulated that they wanted to create an art style distinctly different the preceding Olmec culture and the contemporaneous Mayan centers. They were not interested in displaying a succession of kingship as commonly shown in other cultures of the area.
Early murals at the site are generally found located in small temples along the Avenue of the Dead and depict animals such as quetzal
s and feline
s as well as various plant varieties. During the Xolalpan stage of Teotihuacán (~AD 400), however, murals could be found in a wider variety of structures including many porticoes of apartment compounds. Additionally, themes of mythical supernatural deities and the increase in hieroglyphic notations led Pasztory to conclude that this change may mark a sort of decentralization within the society.
s. In all, there are four feathered serpents (two from the Wagner Collection) that accompany nine plants each. It has been suggested from some scholars that these nine plants with nine different glyphs may represent the nine lords of the underworld. It also may be one of the first references of the migration myth of the eight tribes of the Aztec
s leaving the cave of origin.
Another predominant theme represented in a number of the Wagner Murals is the image of a figure wearing a three-tassel headdress. Thought to be connected with independent collections called the St. Louis and San Francisco Collections respectively, these figures are presumed to be originally found in Techinantila compound of Teotihuacán. Additional figures of similar form and colorations are found in the Houston and Milwaukee Collections. All of the figures are facing to the right and disks are placed at regular intervals above the depictions. If the proportions of this room were equivalent to those found in Teopancaxco (9mx3.4m), then this mural would have contained 20 figures surrounding the room, possibly led by the Storm God. Additionally, various glyphs under many of these tasseled headdresses may denote the individual names with which they are associated. As there are no discernible borders at the corners where the mural would be adjoined, these figures are thought to have been read continuously as one viewed them from wall to wall. A border of footprints along the top of the mural pieces helps to strengthen this notion.
While the figures in this particular group seem to represent specific people or deities
in Teotihuacán, the three-tassel headdress also seems to become a symbol for the people themselves. In distant areas like Tikal, for example, this three-tassel motif also shows up. On Stela 31 there is a depiction of what may be a military figure with a shield that is adorned with this very symbol. On a further note, the Storm God is always shown with the tassel headdress. Additionally, there are connections of the headdress to Great Goddess as seen in the Tetitla compound. This helps to show how these murals, while out of context, can help growing scholarship on interpretation. These murals could aide in Pasztory's notion of the transition in Teotihuacán culture. In the time of the Wagner Murals, iconography was used denote communal ideology and individual identification as well.
Almost all of the fragments were traced back in 1983 and 1984 by Rene Millon to the Techinantitla compound, some 500 yards east of the Avenue of the Dead and Pyramid of the Moon. The remainder of the fragments were traced by Millon to the Tlacuilapaxco compound.
, Oregon
in 1903. He later went on to obtain a degree in Architecture
from the University of Oregon
at Eugene. In 1927, Wagner moved to San Francisco and went to work as a draftsman for the architectural firm of Bliss & Faville. It was here that Wagner became adamantly interested in art
. Influenced by his mentor, William Faville, and Arthur and Lucia Mathews, popular decor artists in the area, Wagner began to learn and collect art from around the world. In the 1950s, he traveled for the first time to Mexico
where he fell in love with the country and its people. He eventually purchased a house there where he lived part time. It was here that, in the mid-1960s, he began to acquire a collection of mural pieces from the city of Teotihuacán. His combined love of architecture and its various artistic components fueled his collective spirit and his collection quickly grew to over seventy pieces. Although it seems that his original intention of this collection was to sell it for profit, increased awareness of the ethical implications of acquiring such collections nullified their marketability. In the end, Wagner donated the entire collection to the de Young Museum in San Francisco as part of his will shortly following his death in 1973.
Since that time, the collection has been extensively studied by numerous academics of Teotihuacán culture. Because of excessive looting at the site of Teotihuacán, scholarship has been very difficult to undertake. Very few murals were known in situ before the emergence of the Wagner Murals. However, they may eventually help us to fully understand the artistic depictions created by the people of Teotihuacán.
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
fragments illegally removed from the Pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
site of Teotihuacán
Teotihuacán
Teotihuacan – also written Teotihuacán, with a Spanish orthographic accent on the last syllable – is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, just 30 miles northeast of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas...
in the 1960s.
Murals of Teotihuacan
The murals of Teotihuacán are very different from artistic representations found in neighboring centers. Few aspects of daily life are represented; the murals are predominantly abstract depictions of mythical deities that probably reflect a communal belief system. Teotihuacán is also unique in the fact that, even though it is contemporaneous with initial Mayan centers, there are relatively few hieroglyphic inscriptions. Esther PasztoryEsther Pasztory
Esther Pasztory is a professor of Pre-Columbian art history at Columbia University. Since 1997 she has held the Lisa and Bernard Selz Chair in Art History and Archaeology. Among her many publications are the first art historical manuscripts on Teotihuacan and the Aztecs...
, of the Teotihuacán Murals Project, has postulated that they wanted to create an art style distinctly different the preceding Olmec culture and the contemporaneous Mayan centers. They were not interested in displaying a succession of kingship as commonly shown in other cultures of the area.
Early murals at the site are generally found located in small temples along the Avenue of the Dead and depict animals such as quetzal
Quetzal
Quetzals are strikingly colored birds in the trogon family . They are found in forests and woodlands, especially in humid highlands, with the five species from the genus Pharomachrus being exclusively Neotropical, while the single Euptilotis species is almost entirely restricted to western Mexico...
s and feline
Felidae
Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the strictest carnivores of the thirteen terrestrial families in the order Carnivora, although the three families of marine mammals comprising the superfamily pinnipedia are as carnivorous as the...
s as well as various plant varieties. During the Xolalpan stage of Teotihuacán (~AD 400), however, murals could be found in a wider variety of structures including many porticoes of apartment compounds. Additionally, themes of mythical supernatural deities and the increase in hieroglyphic notations led Pasztory to conclude that this change may mark a sort of decentralization within the society.
Wagner Murals
The Wagner Murals may help to show this process of decentralization. One of the best examples of this transition comes from the Feathered Serpents and Flowering Trees mural. While there are depictions of serpents and floral aspects common in early Teotihuacán artwork, within the flowering trees there are relatively rare depictions of simple glyphGlyph
A glyph is an element of writing: an individual mark on a written medium that contributes to the meaning of what is written. A glyph is made up of one or more graphemes....
s. In all, there are four feathered serpents (two from the Wagner Collection) that accompany nine plants each. It has been suggested from some scholars that these nine plants with nine different glyphs may represent the nine lords of the underworld. It also may be one of the first references of the migration myth of the eight tribes of the Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
s leaving the cave of origin.
Another predominant theme represented in a number of the Wagner Murals is the image of a figure wearing a three-tassel headdress. Thought to be connected with independent collections called the St. Louis and San Francisco Collections respectively, these figures are presumed to be originally found in Techinantila compound of Teotihuacán. Additional figures of similar form and colorations are found in the Houston and Milwaukee Collections. All of the figures are facing to the right and disks are placed at regular intervals above the depictions. If the proportions of this room were equivalent to those found in Teopancaxco (9mx3.4m), then this mural would have contained 20 figures surrounding the room, possibly led by the Storm God. Additionally, various glyphs under many of these tasseled headdresses may denote the individual names with which they are associated. As there are no discernible borders at the corners where the mural would be adjoined, these figures are thought to have been read continuously as one viewed them from wall to wall. A border of footprints along the top of the mural pieces helps to strengthen this notion.
While the figures in this particular group seem to represent specific people or deities
Deity
A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
in Teotihuacán, the three-tassel headdress also seems to become a symbol for the people themselves. In distant areas like Tikal, for example, this three-tassel motif also shows up. On Stela 31 there is a depiction of what may be a military figure with a shield that is adorned with this very symbol. On a further note, the Storm God is always shown with the tassel headdress. Additionally, there are connections of the headdress to Great Goddess as seen in the Tetitla compound. This helps to show how these murals, while out of context, can help growing scholarship on interpretation. These murals could aide in Pasztory's notion of the transition in Teotihuacán culture. In the time of the Wagner Murals, iconography was used denote communal ideology and individual identification as well.
Almost all of the fragments were traced back in 1983 and 1984 by Rene Millon to the Techinantitla compound, some 500 yards east of the Avenue of the Dead and Pyramid of the Moon. The remainder of the fragments were traced by Millon to the Tlacuilapaxco compound.
Origin of the Collection
Harald Wagner was born in Falls CityFalls City, Oregon
Falls City is a city in Polk County, Oregon, United States. The population was 966 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
in 1903. He later went on to obtain a degree in Architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
from the University of Oregon
University of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
at Eugene. In 1927, Wagner moved to San Francisco and went to work as a draftsman for the architectural firm of Bliss & Faville. It was here that Wagner became adamantly interested in art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
. Influenced by his mentor, William Faville, and Arthur and Lucia Mathews, popular decor artists in the area, Wagner began to learn and collect art from around the world. In the 1950s, he traveled for the first time to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
where he fell in love with the country and its people. He eventually purchased a house there where he lived part time. It was here that, in the mid-1960s, he began to acquire a collection of mural pieces from the city of Teotihuacán. His combined love of architecture and its various artistic components fueled his collective spirit and his collection quickly grew to over seventy pieces. Although it seems that his original intention of this collection was to sell it for profit, increased awareness of the ethical implications of acquiring such collections nullified their marketability. In the end, Wagner donated the entire collection to the de Young Museum in San Francisco as part of his will shortly following his death in 1973.
Since that time, the collection has been extensively studied by numerous academics of Teotihuacán culture. Because of excessive looting at the site of Teotihuacán, scholarship has been very difficult to undertake. Very few murals were known in situ before the emergence of the Wagner Murals. However, they may eventually help us to fully understand the artistic depictions created by the people of Teotihuacán.