TEOTIHUACAN

JADE, OBSIDIAN AND SHELL TREASURES FROM ANCIENT MEXICO

- HELEN SERRAS-HERMAN

Imperial green jadeite beads were on display separately as well as on figurines.

Teotihuacan: City of Water, City of Fire was an amazing traveling exhibit with artifacts from the ancient city of Teotihuacan, which is located just outside of Mexico City, in Mexico. The exhibit was held at the Phoenix Museum of Art, from October 2018, through January 27, 2019. It was organized by the de Young Fine Arts Museum in San Francisco and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, in collaboration with the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico (INAH).

My husband, Andrew and I, took a day trip to Phoenix to witness this fabulous exhibit, which brought together more than 200 artifacts recently discovered, along with others found over a century ago. Exhibited were large-scale sculptures, reliefs, friezes, masks, brightly-colored murals, ceramic vessels, and gemstone carvings crafted in jade and other greenstones, obsidian, alabaster onyx and shell, and stunning jewelry. All these amazing artifacts offered comprehensive insight into the art, everyday life, and religion of Teotihuacan, as well as its trade and influence on other regions of Mexico.

Water and fire were the essential elements that contributed to the power and devastation of the city, and the Teotihuacan art represents manifestations of these natural forces. Hence the exhibit’s name Teotihuacan: City of Water, City of Fire.

ANCIENT CITY AND RUINS AT TEOTIHUACAN