Lot 70C
Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Veracruz culture, ca. 6th to 8th century CE. A striking ceramic head with a fascinating visage and a tremendous headdress or crown. The figure may represent an impersonator of the god Tlaloc. The face is painted yellow and orange, with black around the eyes and a huge, gaping mouth. The black is chapopote, the classic thick black color that is common to Veracruz artwork and is made from petroleum-rich deposits. The face was made to appear to have sagging, discolored skin, indicating that the figure is wearing the skin of a flayed victim. Size: 3" L x 6" W x 4.4" H (7.6 cm x 15.2 cm x 11.2 cm); 5.75" H (14.6 cm) on included custom stand.
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. In much Mesoamerican iconography, he is depicted with goggles around his eyes. He is also frequently represented in artwork and seems to have been one of the most commonly depicted of the Mesoamerican gods. His impersonators wore his distinctive goggle mask and a headdress capped by heron feathers (which this piece may have once had). During the religious festival known as Etzalcualiztli, the "Meal of Cooked Maize", Tlaloc symbolically died - and Tlaloc impersonators may have also died, as sacrifices.
Provenance: Adeon Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, USA, acquired prior to 1970
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#126031
- Condition: Loss to chin. Small, unrepaired but stable cracks on the neck. Tiny loss to front of headdress.
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