Tzontecomatl --//-- Mesoamerican Skull

Cette relique a été découverte en 1992, mise au jour lors de l'une des dernières fouilles au sein des ruines de la zone Isthmo-Colombienne située à Gran Colcé, au Panama. Attribué rapidement aux Mixtèques en raison des travaux métallurgiques observés sur les artefacts préhispaniques qui l'entourent, le crâne n'a en fait pas d'origine bien définie, étant clairement unique en son genre. La façon dont le crâne et les dents sont ornés (s'ils ne sont pas conçus à partir de rien) reste un mystère total, tant par la complexité des ornements que par la qualité de conservation du crâne. //// This relic was discovered in 1992, unearthed during one of the latest excavation of Isthmo-Colombian Area's ruins located in Gran Colcé, Panama. Quickly attributed to Mixtecs due to the metallurgical works observed on the pre-Hispanic artifacts surrounding it, the skull has in fact, not a well defined origin, being clearly unique of its kind. The way in which the skull and teeth were adorned (if not designed from scratch) remains a total mystery, as much by the complexity that it shows as by it's preservation's quality.

Personal project.
I wanted to give the feel of a sophisticated remnant of an ancient era. The pre-columbian era was obvious to me as it englobes such a long and yet not very well known period of time, that it is still nowadays a source of potential discoveries...
Skull and teeth were sculpted in Zbrush, I used Houdini to grow some gold on the teeth, rendered it with Arnold for Maya and did some adjustements in Photoshop.