| This is a stucco portrait of K'uk B'ahlam I, the dynastic founder, on Pier B of the Temple of the Inscriptions. He can be identified by the quetzal bird and jaguar muzzle in his headdress. (See drawing.) "The figure wears a short jaguar pelt skirt divided at the front in a curve across the hips. The jaguar spots are indicated by deep oval cuts which are crosshatched. The skirt is bordered with horizontally laid feathers finished off with vertically hanging feathers of equal length. The combination of fragile bird feathers and tough leather on the same garment is notable. ...Very little of the beaded cape worn by this figure remains, but enough survives to indicate that it was shorter than usual and was made of small round beads. The figure also wore a necklace of large round beads. ... The flamboyant blue feather headdress completes the figure's scant attire (Greene Robertson 1983)." |