1973.49 Face panel (Teotihuacan, Mexico)
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The human face was a popular sculptural theme at Teotihuacan (Teotihuacán), where it was carved in a range of sizes and in a variety of stones. The face is generally triangular in shape and has a wide, low forehead. The eyes are not pierced, but their deep cavities were originally inlaid with a contrasting, less permanent material. The everted lips may once have framed inlaid teeth.
1973.50 Face panel (Teotihuacan, Mexico)
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The human face was a popular sculptural theme at Teotihuacan (Teotihuacán), where it was carved in a range of sizes and in a variety of stones. The face is generally triangular in shape and has a wide, low forehead. The eyes are not pierced, but their deep cavities were originally inlaid with a contrasting, less permanent material. The everted lips may once have framed inlaid teeth.
1973.65 Xipe impersonator (Mexico City, Mexico, Aztec)
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Perhaps the most gruesome image created by the Aztecs is Xipe Totec, a living man (probably a cult priest) who wears on his head and torso the flayed skin of a sacrificed human. Often, as here, the skin shows the great chest wound that res
1976.41 Standing figure (Teotihuacan, Mexico)
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The human figure was a popular sculptural theme at Teotihuacan (Teotihuacán), carved in a range of sizes and in a variety of stones. As exemplified in this carved obsidian standing figure, the body tends to be idealized in form with a focus on the human face with less emphasis on the definition of individual features, form, or expression.
1979.2 Mask, possibly of Tlaloc (Mexico, Mixtec-Aztec)
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Aztec Empire, founded in 1325 CE by nomads who settled in the Valley of Mexico, was the last great indigenous state of Mesoamerica.
1983.W.1 Pectoral maskette (Mixtec, Oaxaca, Mexico)
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Mixtec artisans were famous for their extraordinarily refined miniature carvings made in a variety of materials, creating objects of virtually perfect design and workmanship. Although gold-working was common from an early time in far Central and South America, it was hardly used in Middle America until the Postclassic period. The Mixtecs were among the gre
1996.94 Face panel (Teotihuacan, Mexico)
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The human face was a popular sculptural theme at Teotihuacan (Teotihuacán), where it was carved in a range of sizes and in a variety of stones. The face is generally triangular in shape and has a wide, low forehead. The eyes are not pierced, but their deep cavities were originally inlaid with a contrasting, less permanent material. The everted lips may once have framed inlaid teeth.