- Museum number
- Am,+.6185
- Description
-
Offering vessel (cuauhxicalli) made of basalt. The shape of the vessel echoes that of pottery storage jars used to hold pulque. Its upper part is composed of encircling superimposed bands of human hearts, feathers and jade. The front bears a solar disk and the glyph 4 Movement, the symbol for the fifth epoch in the Aztec creation cycle. On the base beneath this is the glyph 1 Rain. On the obverse side a symbol for the moon is found together with the glyph 2 Rabbit, one of the calendrical names for the pulque god. The hollow basin on the top of the vessel and some details of the exterior surface were never completed. The object also shows signs of having been intentionally defaced, particularly at the sides.
- Production date
-
1500 (circa)
-
1300-1521
- Dimensions
-
Diameter: 35.90 centimetres
-
Height: 56.40 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- The chronicles record how cuauhxicalli (eagle vessels) served as receptacles for sacrificial offerings and were used in the solemn state ceremonies of investiture and enthronement of new kings. The shape of the vessel echoes that of pottery storage jars used to hold pulque. Its upper part is composed of encircling superimposed bands of human hearts, feathers and jade. The front bears a solar disk and the glyph 4 Movement, the symbol for the fifth epoch in the Aztec creation cycle. On the base beneath this is the glyph 1 Rain. On the obverse side a symbol for the moon is found together with the glyph 2 Rabbit, one of the calendrical names for the pulque god. This opposition expresses a deep-rooted Mesoamerican concern with the opposed, complementary forces governing the rhythmic relationship between seasonal changes and human affairs. The hollow basin on the top of the vessel and some details of the exterior surface were never completed. The object also shows signs of having been intentionally defaced, particularly at the sides. This suggests that an unexpected event, perhaps the arrival of the Spanish, intervened before it could be finished.
- Location
- On display (G27/dc5)
- Exhibition history
-
Exhibited:
1990 20 Oct-9 Dec, Japan, Tokyo, Setagaya Art Museum, Treasures of the British Museum, cat. no.209
1991 5 Jan-20 Feb, Japan, Yamaguchi, Prefectural Museum of Art, Treasures of the British Museum, cat. no.209
1991 9 Mar-7 May, Japan, Osaka, National Museum of Art, Treasures of the British Museum, cat. no.209
2002 London, Royal Academy, Aztecs
2003 Berlin, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Aztecs
2007 14 Jun-14 Sep London, Wellcome Collection, Heart
2009 24 Sep-2010 24 Jan, London, BM, Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler
- Acquisition date
- 1893
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Am,+.6185
- Additional IDs
-
CDMS number: Am1893C2.6185 (old CDMS no.)
