Lot 68A
From Pre-Columbian Mexico, Aztec culture, ca. 1300 1500 CE. Stone fragment representing the Water Goddess, Chalchihuitlicue, carved from a single block of volcaniclastic stone having a faint reddish-pink tint, a well-documented type of stone known to have been used by the ancient Aztecs for authentic examples like this one. It weighs over four pounds, without the stand. Aztec stone sculpture is relatively rare to come available in private collections. This example is one of the many variations of Aztec sculpture depicting the Goddess Chalchihuitlicue, identified by distinctive headdress elements, including multiple bands around the circumference of the head and large tassels hanging down each side of the face. As a Water Goddess, this figure would have been an important one in the pantheon of deities featured in residential or community shrines. Size: 6-1/2"W x 5"H (item alone, unmounted), 8"H mounted on the included museum quality custom display stand.
Reference: See Aztec Art by Esther Pasztory for similar examples and scholarly information. Darker surface areas are likely the result of much handling. Ethnographic accounts tell that such objects were heavily touched and in some cases were even ritually fed a variety of substances as offerings were repeatedly made.
Provenance: Ex-private Michigan, USA collecton.
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#110516
- Condition: Fragmentary, having once been part of a full figure, as is typically the case since most Aztec sculptures were defaced or destroyed after Conquest. Minor losses overall, with expert restoration only to ancient loss at the tip of the nose. Otherwise, all else is original with expected weathering, wear, losses, chips and abrasions overall, and a thick patina consistent with age.
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