Jade figurine of Tlaloc
Mixtec, AD 1200-1521
From Mexico
This figurine was carved by Mixtec artisans and represents
Tlaloc, the Rain God. Tlaloc is often depicted with 'goggle eyes'
and fangs coming out of his mouth. He was an important god in the
Mesoamerican pantheon, with representations found as early as the
first century BC. His image can be seen on mural paintings,
ceramics, stone carvings and illustrated codices. He is one of the
most prominent deities at Teotihuacan (150 BC - AD 750). At
Tenochtitlan, the Mexica* capital, one of the twin shrines in
the Great Temple was dedicated to Tlaloc, and here many offerings
were made, including jade or greenstone figurines carved in the
Mixtec style.
Tlaloc was seen as having a vital role in the agricultural
cycle: ensuring the timely rains and the growth of the crops. He
could also provoke floods and storms. His feminine counterpart is
Chalchiuhtlicue, associated with the spring water, rivers and
lakes. The Tlaloques, his attendants, were each associated
with a mountain, the place where storms are born. According to
sixteenth-century chronicles, Mexica rulers made pilgrimages
and brought offerings to images of rain gods set up on Mount
Tlaloc, on the eastern side of the Valley of Mexico.
*The people and culture we know as 'Aztec' referred to
themselves as the Mexica (pronounced Me-shee-ka).
K. Berrin and E. Pasztory (eds.), Teotihuacan: art from the city (Thames and Hudson, 1993)
R.F. Townsend, The Aztecs (London, Thames and Hudson, 2000)
W. Bray and L. Manzanilla (eds.), The archaeology of Mesoamerica (London, The British Museum Press, 1999)
C. McEwan, Ancient Mexico in the British (London, The British Museum Press, 1994)