Anyway, if this is Maz Kanata, the pirate (according to Vanity Fair) then it would seem it's the same person we saw in this leaked concept art.

How strange that we would have 2 distinct aliens, one orange, one blue, both involved in scenes involving passing on sabers. At least that's what the painting above seems to indicate to me.

Could this be a contemporary equivalent of Yoda? And as a pirate, her ideology would clash with our ideas of what a wise master is meant to be.

Also, if the art is anything to go by, it's definitely not the same species as in AOTC. It doesn't have the elongated head the AOTC alien has (It is in fact a long cranium, not just a headdress as we see another of the species on Coruscant as well).