Lot 135
Pre-Columbian, Gulf Coast Mexico, Veracruz, ca. 3rd to 7th century CE. A hand-built pottery head from a larger figure depicting an impersonator of Tlaloc, the Mesoamerican god of rain. The face presents with goggle-like appliques around each eye, an open mouth, and a petite nose, all housed within the gaping maw of an enormous zoomorphic creature. The creature's face features huge fangs, a bulbous nose and cheeks, and gigantic eyes adorned with chapapote pigment. This was likely the head of a shaman or warrior figure. Size: 4.375" W x 6.875" H (11.1 cm x 17.5 cm); 8.4" H (21.3 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. Iconographically, he is often shown with goggles around his eyes and large fangs. He is also frequently represented in artwork from Teotihuacan, the Aztecs, 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 presumably 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: private Hidden Valley Lake, California, USA collection, acquired from Arte Antico, New York, New York, USA, October 10, 2020, Lot 88
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#170687
- Condition: Fragment of a larger composition as shown. Repaired with adhesive. Losses to several portions of peripheries. Nicks, abrasions, encrustations, and fading to pigment. Nice preservation to expressive headdress.
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