- Museum number
- Am1990,10.1
- Description
-
Carved stone figure of a cihuateotl in kneeling position. Figure wears a long skirt fastened by a knot with bare breasts and delineated nipples. The hair is tightly bound and interwoven in a pattern of concentric circles along the hairline. The crown of the head is inscribed with a glyph indicating the day "1-monkey" in the Aztec calendar.
- Production date
- 1400-1521 (circa)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 74 centimetres
-
Weight: 182 kilograms
-
Width: 45 centimetres
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Depth: 42 centimetres
- Curator's comments
-
From EO3 entry form (A.Shelton) "Metropolitan style, similar to 4 other examples in Museo Nacional de Antropolgia y Historia, Mexico found in centre of Mexico City."
Cihuteteo were the malevolent spirits of women who died in childbirth and were equated in Aztec religion with the spirits of men who died in battle. This sculpture may once have been part of a roadside shrine, intended to prevent children from the spirits.
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Text from 'Aztecs' catalogue:
"Fearsome figures with clenched, claw-like fists, macabre, bared teeth and gums and agressive poses characterise cihuateteo (sing. cihuateotl), the malevolent spirits of women who died in childbirth. The spirits of these brave 'warrior-women' were thought to be the female counterparts of male warriors who were slain in battle or who had been sacrificed. They dwelt in the west (Cihuatlampa, 'place of women') and escorted the sun from its midday zenith down to its position at dusk on the western horizon. The present figure wears a long skirt fastened by a belt around her waist tied in a simple knot, above which her bare breasts with delineated nipples are exposed. Her hair has been tightly bound into an interwoven arrangement marked by a distinctive pattern of concentric circles along the hairline. On the crown of her head is inscribed the glyph '1-monkey', this being one of the days that marked the beginning of a ritual thirteen-day period in the 260-day divinatory cycle (tonalpohualli). The sculpture may once have been part of a roadside shrine. Such images were so placed to propitiate marauding anguished female spirits who were believed to pose a danger to young children, since they had been deprived of the opportunity to be mothers themselves. CMcE"
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
2002-2003 16 Nov 16 - 11 April, London, Royal Academy, Aztecs
2003, Berlin, Martin-Gropius-Bau, Aztecs
2014 23 Apr-01 Aug, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi, 'A History of the World in 100 Objects'
2014-2015 13 Dec-15 Mar, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 'A History of the World in 100 Objects'
2015 18 Apr–28 Jun, Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, 'A History of the World in 100 Objects'
2015 14 Jul–6 Sep, Kyushu National Museum, Dazaifu, 'A History of the World in 100 Objects'
2015-2016 20 Sep-11 Jan, Kobe City Museum, Kobe, 'A History of the World in 100 Objects'
2016 13 Feb-18 Jun, National Museum of Western Australia, Perth, 'A History of the World in 100 Objects'
2016-2017 08 Sep-29 Jan, National Museum of Australia, Canberra, 'A History of the World in 100 Objects'
2017 1 Mar-31 May, National Museum of China, Beijing, 'A History of the World in 100 Objects'
2017 28 Jun-08 Oct, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 'A History of the World in 100 Objects'
2018 19 Apr-22 Jul, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Valenciennes, 'A History of the World in 100 Objects'
2019 15 May-9 Sep, Hong Kong Heritage Museum, 'A History of the World in 100 Objects'
- Condition
- good
- Acquisition date
- 1990
- Acquisition notes
- Found in a Scottish country house (see acquisition file); some of William Bullock's collection ended up in the Scottish anitquaries, now the National Museum, and it is just possible that this figure came from the same source (JCHK 9 9 08)
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Am1990,10.1
