Yaxchilan Lintel 25

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This ancient lintel was chiseled from limestone during the reign of King Itzamnaaj B'alam II, showcasing Lady Xook as she invokes the Vision Serpent to honor her husband's ascension to the throne. In her hand, Lady Xook grasps a bowl containing bloodletting tools - a stingray spine and crimson-stained paper. Before her stands the majestic Vision Serpent, its dual heads rising on either side, spewing forth a warrior from one mouth and the head of Tlaloc, central Mexican deity and water god from Teotihuacan's distant metropolis in Mexico's Valley, from the other. The hieroglyphic inscription on the lintel presents an enigma - reversed, as if meant to be deciphered in a mirror, though its significance remains a mystery.