figure
- Museum number
- Am1825,1210.6
- Description
-
Stone kneeling figure of the Aztec water goddess Chalchiuhtlicue. She wears the traditional shawl (quechquemitl), trimmed with tassels, over a long skirt. Her eyes were probably made of shell.
- Production date
- 1325-1521
- Dimensions
-
Height: 30 centimetres
-
Width: 18 centimetres
-
Depth: 17 centimetres
- Curator's comments
-
McEwan 1994, p.73
'Stone kneeling figures of Chalchiuhtlicue'
The image of the goddess Chalchiuhtlicue ('jade skirt') figures prominently in the codices as a beautiful young woman representing the purity and preciousness of water. She is invariably painted blue, signalling her role in mythology as the wife of , mother or sister of Tlaloc, the Rain God. She is associated with spring water used to irrigate the fields and, as the patron saint of fishermen, with lakes and rivers. She also plays an important role in birth ceremonies. Each figure wears a headband adorned with large ear tassels, as well as a tasselled quechquemitl (shoulder cape) over a long skirt.
Entry also refers to Am,St.373
-
See MS "Acquisitions in the Department of Antiquities since the year 1825" (in Medieval and Later Dept. Register Cupboards).
- 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.201
1991 5 Jan-20 Feb, Japan, Yamaguchi, Prefectural Museum of Art, Treasures of the British Museum, cat. no.201
1991 9 Mar-7 May, Japan, Osaka, National Museum of Art, Treasures of the British Museum, cat. no.201
2002 London, Royal Academy, Aztecs
2003 Berlin, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Aztecs
- Acquisition date
- 1825
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Am1825,1210.6
