In the Tala-Tonala style, sculptures were painted with elements that in other styles are modeled, in relief, incised or engraved; among them clothing, in this case, a lateral cape. I propose calling it a "tilma", which derives from the Nahuatl term tilmatli, applied to a quadrangular cloak in the form of a toga that was tied to the chest below the neck or over one shoulder, leaving the other exposed; this garment is well known in the Late Post-Classic period, in relation to the Mexica. Many centuries before, in the framework of the culture of the shaft tombs, a similar cape was used, that unlike the Mexica is always short and whose two upper ends are united by a thin band; it was represented in several of the regional stylistic modes of Nayarit, Jalisco and Colima.
In the Tala-Tonala style, among others, the cloak es under one shoulder, while in the Ixtlan del Rio it sometimes covers one of the arms. It is worn by men, although it can also be seen on some female figures. It is usually decorated; in our image, the entire tilma, including its ornamentation, was painted white on the red of the background, the characteristic colors of the style.
It is not often that the works of the Tala-Tonala style retain their pictorial layer; often only the dark gray color of the paste, or perhaps traces of red can be seen. This color was applied before firing and the white afterwards; this is one of the main reasons why it would have disappeared: the firing of the pieces fixes the paint, but also the colors are changed when the chemical composition of the pigments is changed. From the above, I can deduce that for the workshops and communities in which this style was created, it was secondary that the post-firing paint was perishable and it was very important on the other hand that the white stand out in certain details of the face, such as the eyeballs, and in the body painting, clothing and ornaments.
The cloak has five triangular or quadrangular sections divided by three lines, each with different motifs that may allude to embroidery: from back to front, crosses, groups of circles, scattered circles and, apparently, groups of circles again and then crosses. The motif of the group of circles is called guachimontón; it is a circle surrounded by other circles and resembles the circular concentric base of the ceremonial architectural complexes of this society.
As can be seen, the figure has black spots which are not paint, but rather minerals deposits that incidentally became affixed while it was in the subterranean enclosure that is the shaft tomb and chamber. There are also certain sections, such as the two triangles on the cheeks, the outline of the eyes and another triangular linear shape on the nose, which were reserved, that is, not covered in red, and what is seen is the base color of the paste.
Following with the white designs that are most easily seen are the dotted lines on the cheeks, points on the toothed rim of the large earrings, a four-strand necklace, the undergarment outline, which is also in relief; and finally, an exclusive trait of the Tala-Tonala style: a kind of gloves on the hands and socks on the feet, in both cases with the fingers and toes marked with wide incisions.
The undergarment presents an elongated overlap in the front, which is most noticeable in the pieces of the Ixtlan del Rio style, south of Nayarit, and is interpreted as a phallic protector. On the other hand, the man holds a tubular object in his right hand that I am unable to identify. By the position, it could be a knife.
Of course, an element of greater visual interest is the head showing a very pronounced tabular deformation; its exaggerated height was totally apt for arranging the typical headdress in this style made up of horizontal bands and that in this piece were elaborately and ostentatiously modeled. Finally, in the posterior view, apart from the cloak, a section was reserved and implies long hair, which appears to hide the lines of the necklace. Long hair on the male figures appears with some regularity in the imagery of this culture.
In the Tala-Tonala style, sculptures were painted with elements that in other styles are modeled, in relief, incised or engraved; among them clothing, in this case, a lateral cape. I propose calling it a "tilma", which derives from the Nahuatl term tilmatli, applied to a quadrangular cloak in the form of a toga that was tied to the chest below the neck or over one shoulder, leaving the other exposed; this garment is well known in the Late Post-Classic period, in relation to the Mexica. Many centuries before, in the framework of the culture of the shaft tombs, a similar cape was used, that unlike the Mexica is always short and whose two upper ends are united by a thin band; it was represented in several of the regional stylistic modes of Nayarit, Jalisco and Colima.
