Description:

Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Mixtec culture, ca. 11th to 16th century CE. A collection of 7 cast copper bells, most have raised, applied bands that create a highly simplified face - likely symbolizing the god, Tlaloc. Tlaloc (Chaac to the Maya) is the Mesoamerican rain deity, who with his axe made of lightning, strikes the clouds and produces thunder and rain; his worship was widespread and well established by the time of the Aztecs, and became one of their chief deities. The jangling sound of bells was part of the rituals carried out to honor Tlaloc and other gods, and these bells may have been intended to be worn on cords or sewn to clothing. Besides Tlaloc, Coyolxauhqui, Huitzilopochtli were deities specifically associated with bells and venerated in various parts of Mesoamerica. Size: 0.9" L x 0.65" W (2.3 cm x 1.7 cm)

For a similar example of a bell with a clear depiction of Tlaloc, please see the Metropolitan Museum of Art's website, accession number 1978.412.248.

Provenance: private Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA collection; ex-private Arkansas, USA collection, via descent in 2021; ex-private Florida estate, USA, acquired from the 1960s to 1970s

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#176469

  • Condition: Chips and losses to bells, but clapper balls are intact and bells make sounds! Heavy green patina and mineral deposits on all as shown.

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January 29, 2023 9:00 AM MST
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