Aztec double headed serpent

Our Price: $101.00

British Museum, London. 15th century Splendid relic of the Aztecs, who rose from squalid origins to power and riches in just 200 years, this double-headed rattlesnake serpent was used as a ceremonial chest ornament that may have been worn by a priest. It is incrusted with scales of turquoise, a stone the Aztecs imported from the outposts of their empire to adorn some of their most beautiful possessions. This piece is the work of a Mixtec jeweller, and dates from the 15th century. Mixtec craftsmanship was highly prized; an entire enclave of artisans from this culture lived in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. In mesoamerican culture, serpents were very important religious symbols, the shedding of their skin made them a symbol of rebirth and renewal. One of the main mesoamerican deities, Quetzalcoatl, was represented as a feathered serpent.
cultured marble
11"H x 19"W (28 x 48cm)

Aztec Moon Goddess Coyolxauhqui

Our Price: $43.00

Temple Mayor Museum, Mexico City. 1400 A.D. This sculpture, 10 feet in diameter, is one of the most impresive and important examples of Aztec art. Her name is Coyolxauhqui, which means "She of the Rattles on her Cheeks". She was also called one who "spoke to all the centipedes and spiders and transformed herself into a sorceress" or a "very evil woman". She was one of the major goddesses in Aztec mythology. In a mythical representation of the triumph of the sun over the powers of night personified by Coyolxauhqui as a lunar goddess, she is shown decapitated and dismembered after she was slain by her brother, the Sun God, Huitzilopochtli. Here, bells decorate her cheek, and in accordance with her ferocious image, she wears a skull on her belt and serpent armbands with claws attached.
bonded stone
11"H (28cm)

Aztec Solar Calender Wall Relief - Large

Our Price: $86.00

Antropological Museum, Mexico City. 1500 A.D. The Aztec calendar set out the mathematical formulas according to which the whole universe was organized and which governed the actions of men and Gods alike. The calendar is actually two: the Xiupohualli or the count of the days and the Tonalpohualli or the count of destiny. The calendar had to be consulted through the priests before engaging in any activity whether it was farming, warfare, religion or commerce. In addition to the count of the days, it also has astronomical data like the phases of the moon and Venus and the years of Mercury and Mars. The calendar also mentions the four eras of humanity known as "suns" before our own: all ended in cataclysm. The sun that is now ours, the fifth one, Nahui Ollin ("four earthquake") is supposed to end by cataclysmic earthquakes. The Aztecs attributed the invention of the calendar to the God Quetzalcoatl. The original calender weighs 25 tons and has a diameter of eleven feet.
bonded stone
17"H (43cm)

Aztec Solar Calender Wall Relief - Small

Our Price: $43.00

Antropological Museum, Mexico City. 1500 A.D. The Aztec calendar set out the mathematical formulas according to which the whole universe was organized and which governed the actions of men and Gods alike. The calendar is actually two: the Xiupohualli or the count of the days and the Tonalpohualli or the count of destiny. The calendar had to be consulted through the priests before engaging in any activity whether it was farming, warfare, religion or commerce. In addition to the count of the days, it also has astronomical data like the phases of the moon and Venus and the years of Mercury and Mars. The calendar also mentions the four eras of humanity known as "suns" before our own: all ended in cataclysm. The sun that is now ours, the fifth one, Nahui Ollin ("four earthquake") is supposed to end by cataclysmic earthquakes. The Aztecs attributed the invention of the calendar to the God Quetzalcoatl. The calandar weighs 25 tons and has a diameter of eleven feet.
cultured marble
10"H (25cm)

Chac-Mool

Our Price: $101.00

Temple of the Warriors, Chichen Itza, Mexico. 1000 A.D. Chac Mools have been found across Mesoamerica, from El Salvador to Michoacan, although most of the best examples come from Chichen Itza and Tula. This Toltec style offertory figure is in its typical half-reclining position, supporting himself at the elbows, with its head turned to one side. The bowl held on the chests of Chac Mools were receptacles for offerings; in one Aztec example, the bowl held by the Chac Mool was a receptacle for the hearts of sacrificial victims. Chac Mools may symbolize fallen warriors who deliver offerings to the gods. The original of this Chac Mool is located in a wide platform in front of the entrance to the Temple of the Warriors in Chichen Itza; it is positioned between two large splendidly carved feathered serpent columns that symbolize the god Kukulcan. The term Chac Mool was coined by the 19th century explorer Augustus LePlongeon, and it literally means great jaguar paw in Yucatec Mayan.
cultured marble
8"H x 12"W (20 x 25cm)

Feathered Serpent Head of Quetzalcoaltl Wall Relief

Our Price: $54.00

Pyramid of Quetzalcoaltl, Teotihuacan, Mexico. 300 A.D. One of the great Gods of Ancient Mesoamerica, Quetzalcoatl is a synthesis of serpent and bird. The name means "quetzal serpent". The quetzal was a sacred bird of very beautiful feathers which were used in elite and ritual costumes. Quetzalcoatl, the patron of rulership, had several incarnations, the most important were as a creator god, as Ehecatl, the God of Wind; as the Morning Star; and asTopiltzin, a semi-human ruler, unique among the Gods. The priestly Quetzalcoatl was often contrasted to his dark shamanic brother Tezcatlipoca, the God of war, and their relation veer between enmity and alliance. According to Aztec and Maya creation accounts, after the great floods ended the era of the Fourth Sun, Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca raised the heavens and create the Earth. Since no people inhabitated the earth, Quetzalcoatl descended to the underworld to retrieve the remains of the people destroyed by the flood. Their bones were ground like corn into a fine meal and upon it the gods let their blood, thus creating the flesh of the present race and the era of the Fifth Sun.
cultured marble
7"H x 7"W x 6"D (18 x 18 x 15cm)

Head of King Pacal relief

Our Price: $32.00

Palenque, Mexico. 692 A.D. King Pacal (also known as Pacal the Great) was born in the year 603 A.D. He was king of the Maya Kingdom of Palenque and is said to have reigned for 67 years until his death at the age of 80. The name "Pacal" means "shield" in the Maya language.
Pacal expanded Palenque's power in the western part of the Maya states, and initiated a building program at his capital that produced some of the finest art and architecture of the Maya civilization. He was preceded as ruler of Palenque by his mother Lady Zac-Kuk. As the Palenque dynasty seems to have had Queens only when there was no eligible male heir, Zac-Kuk transfered rulership to her son upon his official maturity. He accended the throne at age 12 on 29 July, 615 A.D. After his death, Pacal the Great was worshiped as a god, and said to communicate with his descendants. His elaborate temple tomb had a stairway down to his crypt, and after this was sealed up it had a long "speaking tube" connected to the temple atop the step-pyramid. The lid of Pacal's tomb, referred to by some as The lid of Palenque, is the most photographed, reproduced and written about stone work of its kind.
bonded stone
8"H (20cm)

King Chan-Bahlun relief

Our Price: $43.00

Temple of the Foliated Cross, Palenque, Mexico. 692 A.D. This sculpture is a fragment of a larger scene that shows one of the ascention rituals of Chan-Bahlum to the throne of the city of Palenque. Chan-Bahlum is shown presenting the "Tialoc", a symbol of ritual bloodletting to the foliated tree of life. On the other side of the tree is the deceased King Pacal, father of Chan-Bahlum transfering the powers of kingship to his son. This scene occurs in Xibalba, the Maya underworld. Chan-Bahlum and his father Pacal were the most important kings of Palenque and their reign can be considered the golden period of Palenque during which the city became the most important religious and political center in the Yucatan. Pacal and Chan-Bahlum built all the important temples and buildings of the city. Chan Bahlum was responsible for building the three temples of the Group of the Cross from which this relief originates. During their reign, art reached new realms of technical sophistication. The name Chan-Bahlum means "Snake-Jaguar". He was born in 635 A.D., ascended to the throne on 684 A.D. at the age of 48 and died in 702 A.D.
bonded stone
14"H (37cm)

King Pacal Head Statue on Ceremonial Base

Our Price: $86.00

King Pacal (also known as Pacal the Great) was born in the year 603 A.D. He was king of the Maya kingdom of Palenque and is said to have reigned for 67 years until his death at the age of 80. The name "Pacal" means "shield" in the Maya language. Pacal expanded Palenque's power in the western part of the May states, and initiated a building program at his capital that produced some of the finest art and architecture of the Maya civilization. He was preceded as ruler of Palenque by his mother Lady Zac-Kuk As the Palenque dynasty seems to have had Queens only when there was no eligible male heir. Zac-Kuk transferred ruler ship to her son upon his official maturity. He ascended the throne at age 12 on 29 July, 615 A.D. After his death, Pacal the Great was worshiped as a God, and said to communicate with his descendants. His elaborate temple tomb had a stairway down to his crypt, and after this was sealed up it had a long "speaking tube" connected to the temple atop the stop-pyramid. The lid of Pacal's tomb, referred to by some as the lid of Palenque, is the most photographed, reproduced and written about stonework of its kind.
bonded stone
11 x 4 x 4.25

Large Maya vision serpent - color detailed

Our Price: $139.00

Yaxchilan, Mexico. 755 A.D. The maya vision serpent symbolizes the passage of ancestral spirits and the gods of Xibalba (the maya underworld) into our world. In states of ecstasy and usually following penis or tongue bloodletting, particularly as graphically depicted at Yaxchilan, maya mobility invoke the vision serpent. During special ceremonies, bloody papers were burnt in a sacred bowl and from it, this great undulating serpent rises and from its mouth emerges an ancestor or, occasionally, a deity. The serpent itself then, is probably what one sees in the clouds of smoke rising from the burning sacrifice, and cloud symbols may flank the vision serpent�s body. The vision serpent can be the vehicle by which ancestors or deities make themselves manifest to humanity. This sculpture depicts a version with a single head and personified blood scrolls attached to its tail.
cultured marble
19.5"H (49.5cm)

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