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Mosaic mask of Tezcatlipoca
Aztec/Mixtec,
15th-16th century AD
From Mexico
The skull of
the Smoking Mirror
This mask is
believed to represent the god Tezcatlipoca, one of the Aztec creator
gods. He was also the god of rulers, warriors and sorcerers. His name
can be translated as 'Smoking Mirror'. In fact, in many depictions
during the Postclassic period (A.D. 900/1000-1521) his foot is replaced
by a mirror.
The base for this mask is a human skull. Alternate bands of turquoise
and lignite mosaic work cover the front of the skull. The eyes are made
of two discs of iron pyrites set in rings made of shell. The back of the
skull has been cut away and lined with leather. The jaw is movable and
hinged on the leather.
Turquoise was sent as tribute to the Aztec capital from several
provinces of the empire. Some of those provinces were located in
present-day Veracruz, Guerrero and Oaxaca. The turquoise was sent as raw
chunks or as cut and polished mosaic tiles decorating a variety of
objects, such as masks, shields, staffs, discs, knives and bracelets. We
know from a tribute list issued by the emperor Motecuhzoma II that ten
turquoise mosaic masks, made by skilled Mixtec artisans, were sent each
year from a province in Oaxaca.
This mask was purchased by Henry Christy, a collector of antiquities
who travelled extensively in Mexico.
Mosaic mask of
Quetzalcoatl
Aztec/Mixtec,
15th-16th century AD
From Mexico
The Feathered Serpent
This mask is
believed to represent Quetzalcoatl or the Rain God Tlaloc, both
associated with serpents. It is made of cedar wood and covered with
turquoise mosaic work. The teeth are made of shell. Two serpents, one in
green turquoise and one in blue, twist across the face and around the
eyes, blending over the nose. Turquoise mosaic feathers hang on both
sides of the eye sockets.
The Spanish friar Bernardino de Sahagún, writing in the sixteenth
century, describes a mask like this one. It was a gift of the Aztec
emperor Motecuhzoma II to the Spanish captain Hernán Cortés (1485-1547).
The Aztec ruler thought that Cortés was the god Quetzalcoatl (Feathered
Serpent) returning from the East. This mask was part of the adornments
associated with this god. According to Sahagún's description it was worn
with a crown of beautiful long greenish-blue iridescent feathers,
probably those of the quetzal (a bird that lives in the tropical
rain forest).
Though the Rain God Tlaloc was also sometimes represented with
serpents twisting around his eyes, the feathers are more consistent with
the image of Quetzalcoatl.
The earliest image of Quetzalcoatl as the Feathered Serpent appears
at Teotihuacan in Central Mexico, on the façade of the temple that now
bears his name.
Height: 17.3 cm
Width: 16.7 cm
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