Turquoise Lord - Xiuhtecuhti
This mask is in a totally darkened cabinet, with spotlighting - effective to view, but very difficult to photograph, especially through the glass.
Explanation courtesy of British Museum:
www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collecti...
Mask (human face, possibly representing Xiuhtecuhtl
i) made of cedro wood (Cedrela odorata) and covered in turquoise mosaic with scattered turquoise cabochons. The pierced elliptical eyes worked in mother-of-pearl (Pinctada mazatlantica) and the teeth are made of conch (Strombus) shell, although two are modern synthetic replacements. The eyelids were gilded. The interior surface of the mask is painted with cinnabar. The wood was carved to produce a curve and the underlying contours of the face.
Culture/period MixtecAztec
Date 1400-1521
FindspotExcavated/Findspot: Mexico(Americas,North America,Mexico)
Materials: cedrela wood ?
Details: turquoise pine resin mother-of-pearl conch
Masks of the major Aztec deities were probably worn by impersonators to enact scenes from creation stories and to recount the deeds of culture heroes. The protuberances visible on the surface allude to the boils said to have erupted on the face of the Sun God Tonatiuh when he dallied too long in the fiery depths. The darker blue patterns of the cheeks and brow may refer to the Fire God, Xiuhtehcuhtli, whose name also means Turquoise Lord - he is sometimes shown adorned with turquoise mosaic and a nose ornament in the form of an identifying butterfly emblem.
Turquoise Lord - Xiuhtecuhti
This mask is in a totally darkened cabinet, with spotlighting - effective to view, but very difficult to photograph, especially through the glass.
Explanation courtesy of British Museum:
www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collecti...
Mask (human face, possibly representing Xiuhtecuhtl
i) made of cedro wood (Cedrela odorata) and covered in turquoise mosaic with scattered turquoise cabochons. The pierced elliptical eyes worked in mother-of-pearl (Pinctada mazatlantica) and the teeth are made of conch (Strombus) shell, although two are modern synthetic replacements. The eyelids were gilded. The interior surface of the mask is painted with cinnabar. The wood was carved to produce a curve and the underlying contours of the face.
Culture/period MixtecAztec
Date 1400-1521
FindspotExcavated/Findspot: Mexico(Americas,North America,Mexico)
Materials: cedrela wood ?
Details: turquoise pine resin mother-of-pearl conch
Masks of the major Aztec deities were probably worn by impersonators to enact scenes from creation stories and to recount the deeds of culture heroes. The protuberances visible on the surface allude to the boils said to have erupted on the face of the Sun God Tonatiuh when he dallied too long in the fiery depths. The darker blue patterns of the cheeks and brow may refer to the Fire God, Xiuhtehcuhtli, whose name also means Turquoise Lord - he is sometimes shown adorned with turquoise mosaic and a nose ornament in the form of an identifying butterfly emblem.