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Overview

Aztec sculpture is one of the great artistic traditions of the ancient Americas, and surviving works are often religious or historical in nature.Created in the fourteenth and fifteenth century in Central Mexico, surviving examples include numerous deities, human forms as well as animals and symbolic forms. The Aztec interest in the relation of time and space is expressed in various sculptures, most prominently in calendar stones. While religious iconography is prevalent in the majority of Aztec sculptures, many works include historical narratives, as the Aztec attempted to set mundane events into a framework provided by cosmovision. During and after the Spanish invasion of 1519-21, Spanish colonizers frequently destroyed or buried Aztec sculptures for their supposed blasphemous or pagan meanings that contrasted with the tenets of Christianity; Catholic missionaries did the same. Despite this, many Aztec sculptures survived. Beginning in the the 18th century, rediscovered sculptures were valued for their sophistication, historical importance and aesthetic qualities.

Origins

Annotated image of Tlaloc Chacmool

The Aztecs were inspired by sculptures from other areas in Mesoamerica such as nearby Teotihuacan, which they knew in its ruined state, and Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico. To pay tribute to the previous empires and expand their own, the emperor Moctezuma I made a pilgrimage to Teotihuacan every 80 days. The Nahuatl name for the city literally means "place of the gods." They believed the makers of such great works of the past were Toltec. In fact, the Aztecs used the word "toltecayotl" to describe artworks, which also suggests that for an object to be considered beautiful, it had to have a genealogy. Much of the imagery in Aztec sculpture was previously used by the Toltecs, such as jaguars and serpents. The Aztecs utilized aspects of Toltec art in their own sculpture to establish themselves as the inheritors and climax of great empires. This included the reuse of ancestral objects as well as the imitation of their artistic forms. As a result, Aztec art also served a political agenda in addition to its function in Mexica spiritual ideology. The ancestral influence seen in such works indicates the interplay between cosmovision and imperialism that permeated Aztec society.

The One sculptural type is the Chacmool, which is typically represented as a reclining male figure holding a receptacle on top of its midsection. An Aztec Chacmool excavated in Mexico City in 1943 depicts the rain god Tlaloc through its facial representation and elaborate garb. It follows the typical form, but is much more complex in its decorative elements than Chacmools found at Tula. The Toltec Chacmool is streamlined, straight, and adorned with minimal ornament, while the Mexica Chacmool has a curved body adorned with fine, high-relief sculpture.

Another sculptural form, the Huaxtec life-death figure, prefigures similar Aztec renditions of the god Mictlantecuhtli, god of the dead. The orientation of the body and placement of the arms are similar in both, and in some instances the rib cage and liver that figure prominently in the Huaxtec figures also appear in the Aztec ones.

The overwhelming theme in the interpretation of Aztec sculpture is the consistent appropriation of form from nearby societies that had either collapsed or were conquered by the Aztecs. The Aztec tributary system required conquered states to send resources and workers to Tenochtitlan, which contributed further to a mixture and synthesis of style among tribes by the Mexica people. By developing these past forms the Aztecs cemented their existence at the end of a ruling genealogy of Mesoamerica.

Subject matter

The Aztecs were mostly concerned with religious and imperial themes when it came to subject matter in art. Some of the object types that survive are representations of deities and animals, as well as calendar and dedication stones, many of which relate to religion, imperialism, or both. Many of the deities found in Aztec religious sculpture were appropriated from past civilizations from what is now Mexico. These deities were usually related to the elements like water, fire, and vegetation, or celestial bodies like the earth, and the sun. One exception to this is the deity Huitzilopochtli who is associated with war and sacrifice and is the patron deity of one of the twin pyramids that make up the Templo Mayor. There are no sculptural representations of Huitzilopochtli, but as a deity he epitomizes the connection between religion and imperialism often found in Aztec art because of his relation to sacrifice. Another central idea within Aztec culture is that of the teixiptla, a Nahuatl word that expresses the act of representing or impersonating a deity. The teixiptla concept can be seen most clearly in manuscript images which show human beings taking on the garb or "skin" (skin is xip in Nahuatl) and therefore the identity of a deity. This concept can also relate to the sculptural representations of deities. These works played a versatile role in Aztec civilization, while they have their respective attributes, like water, fire or agriculture just to name a few, they could also be utilized in an imperial or cosmological way. One example of this is the Tizoc Stone which depicts the emperor Tizoc, dressed as the teixiptla of Huitzilopochtli, symbolically capturing chieftains from other tribes, all of which is set within a cosmological framework. The work is discussed in more detail below. Overall when looking at Aztec sculpture, the connection between their religion, cosmology, and imperialism must be taken into consideration. These themes were important to the function of the Aztec state and are often interwoven into a single work.

Deities

When it came to representing deities in sculpture, there were specific conventions that Aztec artists adhered to. For example, both female and male deities were commonly depicted in seated positions. While female deities would have been sculpted in a kneeling position, males were more commonly shown fully seated with their legs in front of them. A number of monumental stone sculptures have been preserved, and such sculptures usually functioned as adornments for religious architecture. Particularly famous monumental stone sculpture includes the so-called Aztec "Sunstone" or Calendar Stone discovered in 1790 as well as the 2.7 meter tall Coatlicue statue representing a serpentine chthonic goddess with a skirt made of rattlesnakes. Another example is the Coyolxauhqui Stone representing the dismembered goddess Coyolxauhqui, found in 1978 at the foot of the staircase leading up to the Great Temple in Tenochtitlan.[119]

Mottled Grey Stone, Dumbarton Oaks Museum,18.4 cm x 16.2 cm x 8.9 cm

Many smaller stone sculptures depicting deities also exist. These sculptures are often depicted in similar styles that utilize metaphors drawn from observations of the natural world. For example, many of the sculptures depict the gods with animal qualities. Some smaller sculptures of deities were also produced in large numbers. Chicomecoatl, one of the deities featured in such sculptures, is the Aztec goddess of sustenance and corn. She is often portrayed wearing a large symmetrical headdress. This same headdress would have been worn by impersonators of the goddess during celebrations and festivals. Another example is the Tezcatlipoca mask, which contains an emblem consisting of two mirrors (Tezcatlipoca's name means "Smoking Mirror") and four balls of eagle feather-down that represent human sacrifice.

Xiuhtecuhtli-Huitzilopochtli, front and back view annotation.

Other examples of sculptural types include devotional statues, such as that of the god Xiuhtecuhtli. Xiuhtecuhtli, the solar diety, is depicted as a young man dressed with a loincloth and a pair of sandals with solar rays on heels. His right hand which appear to be in motion, was used to hold standards. His headdress decorated with a band of disk. His eyes has seashell and obsidian inlays. He carries his weapon on his back which is his characteristic emblem, the xiuhcóatl（ spirit form, of the Aztec fire god Xiuhtecuhtli ）or “snake of turquoises”. The tail of the snake formed by the combination of a trapezium and a ray that constitutes the glyph of the year.

Calendar stones

Calendar stones are intricately carved sculptures that encapsulate the Aztec belief that time and space are interconnected. Calendar Stones were monumental in size, and they contained low relief carvings of symbols representing date glyphs. Among these symbols, the sun was a popular motif to appear in the Calendar Stones.At the center of the Calendar Stones, five suns are included to symbolize the five eras in which the Aztecs lived and the corresponding ways in which these worlds were destroyed: the first sun signaled destruction by jaguars, the second sun by monkeys or hurricanes, the third sun by a rain of fire, the fourth sun by blood, and the fifth - which was the Aztec's present world - was to be destroyed by earthquakes. The first four suns were placed into corners that corresponded to the cardinal directions, and the fifth sun was placed in the middle of the other four. Surrounding the central suns are rings of date glyphs that symbolize different markers of time. Complimentary to Aztec ideology, these date glyphs were representations of physical attributes from nature that were of importance to the Aztecs (rabbit, flint knife, death, water, house etc). The first ring surrounding this central disk comprises of the 20 date glyphs representing the 20 days within an Aztec month. There are 18 months in total, with 260 day years. The symbols read counterclockwise. The second ring is divided into sections by intercardinal rays, depicted as arrows with scrolls at its base. The symbols in between these rays represents sun diadems, depicted with turquoise in quincunx patterns, along with other elements. The outermost ring of the sun stone shows the depiction of two fire serpents, or Xiucoatls. The two heads of the serpent face each other at the bottom of the stone, and the two ends of the tail meet at its top. The calendar was used not only in a practical sense of determining time, but to also show their placement within the natural order of the cosmos.

In Aztec artwork a number of monumental stone sculptures have been preserved, and such sculptures usually functioned as adornments for religious architecture. A particularly famous monumental rock sculpture includes the Aztec "Sunstone" or Piedra de sol, commonly known as the Calendar Stone, discovered in 1790 in Mexico City's main plaza, or Zocalo. Following its discovery, the stone was placed onto one of the towers of the Cathedral Metropolitan until its removal in 1885. After the Calendar Stone's discovery, late-18th and early-19th Century Mexican academics developed a renewed interest in the life and customs of their Aztec ancestors. Antonio de Leon y Gama commissioned Mexican religious artist Francisco de Aguera to produce a pictorial reproduction of the Calendar Stone. Influenced by the European Enlightenment's emphasis on knowledge and studies of past civilizations, Gama wrote that the Calendar Stones were utilized as timekeeping devices and astronomical tools. The Piedra de Sol was believed to be used as a sacrificial altar that the Aztecs called cuauhxicalli, or "eagle vessel".

On view in the Yale University Art Gallery, a volcanic sculpture referred to as "Relief of the Five Ages", was designed by an unknown Aztec artist in the late Postclassic period under the reign of either Ahuitzotl or Montecuhzoma II. Unlike the 1790 stone from the Zocalo, calendar stones like these are typically much smaller in scale but they retain the same motifs such as the five suns and the date glyph system.

In Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History, a replica of an Aztec calendar stone is on view that is approximately 12 feet in diameter and it was replicated from the sun stone unearthed in Mexico City in 1790. Again, similar to the Yale and Mexico City calendars, this one contains the date glyphs and five suns that pertain to the Aztec understandings of the universe's structure and its relationship to Aztec cosmology.

Historical narratives

Historical commemorations often served as triumphal statements of imperial rule, with hieroglyphic names of rulers and date glyphs denoting the person or event of significance. While some dates refer to cosmic time, many also document historic events, particularly the deeds of a ruler preserving them as a form of public history. For instance, the Ahuizotl Box commemorates ruler Ahuizotl's construction of an important aqueduct in Tenochtitlan.

The Tizoc Stone is another example of the medium of sculpture being used to commemorate a historical event. In this work, the military victories of the ruler Tizoc are depicted in detailed low relief, unfolding around the circumference of a large stone disc. The historical battles are represented by fifteen pairs of warriors, with Tizoc shown the dominant of each pair, made apparent through the use of hieratic scale.

Annotated xiuhmolpilli sculpture

The xiuhmolpilli sculptural type serves to commemorate the festival of New Fire that recurred every 52 years, when the 365-day solar calendar would align with the 260-day sacred calendar. This festival marked the beginning of a new era in the Aztec calendrical system, similar to the Western notion of a century. This type of sculpture represents a bundle of reeds, with a date glyph set in the center to mark the date of the festival for which it was made. The xiuhmolpilli sculpture from the Museo Nacional de Anthropología, shown at right, bears the glyph Ome Acatl (two reed), corresponding, in this case, to the year 1507, the last time New Fire was celebrated prior to the conquest of Mexico. The sculpture represents the ceremonial gesture of "binding of the years" that took place at New Fire, wherein fifty-two reeds, representing the years in the previous cycle, were tied together at the end of the festival to mark the completion of the necessary rites, and to symbolically affirm that the previous cycle had ended. Whereas the reed bundle would have been set alight to symbolize the end of the cycle, the stone representations were instead buried.

Animals and nature

Annotated Image of "Coiled Rattlesnake" Sculpture of a Coiled Rattlesnake that can be found at the British Museum in London.

The Aztec found themselves surrounded by a vast amount of different flora and fauna. They viewed themselves as a part of this incredibly diverse world. Their artwork and sculptures showcased the attention to detail the Aztecs paid to their natural surroundings and the non-human inhabitants with which they shared their surroundings. The Coiled Rattlesnake sculpture shows a high level of attention to detail to the anatomy of a Rattlesnake. The sculpture depicts rear fangs and a bifurcated tongue that snakes from the family Viperidae would slither from their mouths. Comparing the sculpture of the snake further reveals that the Aztecs had recognized that rattlesnakes had two small holes found on either side of the snout. These holes house the infrared heat sensors that enable many snakes from the family Viperidae to detect and track prey at night or to see through camouflage. Another critical detail is at the end of the tail of the snake. There the rattle is shown to have multiple layers. The number of rattles increases whenever the snake would shed. Comparing this to other rattlesnake sculptures reveals that not all sculptures of rattlesnakes have the same number of rattles. From this, we can infer that the Aztecs have observed that two different rattlesnakes could have a different number of rattles at the end of their tails.

Another animal depicted in Aztec sculpture is the spider monkey. In the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the “Spider Monkey with Wind God Regalia” can be found. The sculpture identifies itself as a spider monkey due to the lack of hair around the eyes, a common trait of spider monkeys that live in the jungles of the region. On the back of the sculpture is a low relief carving of the Monkey’s Prehensile tail. Interestingly this sculpture has a necklace with a depiction of a conch shell. Due to the spiral found in the biological design of conches, the Aztecs associated conch shells as a symbol of the wind deity Ehecatl. They would cut conch shells to reveal the inner spiral and associate it with winds. They would carve yard long depictions of conch shell interiors on Tlaloc’s temple as the winds were associated with the rain.

The Aztecs noticed that Frogs would appear more often when it rained and thus were also associated with Tlaloc. On the side of the Temple Mayor associated with Tlaloc, there are toad shaped vessels placed around the altar. Toads and Frogs aren’t only associated with Tlaloc; due to many toads burrowing underground until the rains would come, they had a strong association with Tlatecuhtli, an earth deity. One Toad sculpture has the symbol of the quincunx, the Aztec symbol for the five parts of the cosmos showing the importance the Aztecs believed amphibians played to the natural phenomena in their world. Amphibians being relevant to the Aztec understanding of the world is even further supported by how important consuming toxins secreted from amphibians was for inducing the dream-like state many Aztec Shamans would enter. In many Aztec sculptures of toads and frogs, they showed great attention to the natural world as their sculptures had distinct bulges where the toxins would secrete from on the back of the amphibian’s head.

An example of a sculpture with religious iconography and date glyphs signifying historical importance is the Feathered Serpent Statue of deity Quetzalcoatl. The statue depicts the deity in a coiled form, and its body which contains feathers from the "quetzal" bird and the rattle tail of the "coatl" or serpent. These two aspects of its body shows the importance of the cosmos and the merging of sky and earth. The head of the serpent has a curved mouth, fangs, and two tongues: one split tongue that curls at the ends into the shape of scrolls, and a tongue in front in the shape of a flint knife, both symbols of priesthood. On the back of the serpent's head is the 1 Reed year symbol, also known as ce acatl, which is the year the Tollan or Toltec ruler Quetzalcoatl was born. They believed Quetzalcoatl would return during the next ce acatl, which was coincidentally the year Hernan Cortes arrived in Mexico (1519).

Annotated Image of "Feathered Serpent" Sculpture of Quetzalcoatl. National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City. h210 x d440 cm.

Another essential animal in Aztec iconography that appears in many different vessels and depictions in sculpture is the eagle. Eagles symbolized the Aztec’s control over the earth and sky, justifying their empire and. The Aztecs believed eagles were servants to the sun. Aztec priests would place hearts in sculpted vessels called cauahxicalli (this translates to eagle vessel) as sacrifices to the sun.

Arguably the most important animal to Mexica iconography was the jaguar. The Aztecs viewed the jaguar as the king of all animals and prey to none. They believed only humans could kill jaguars and thus viewed them as spiritual equals. The jaguar became a symbol for war in Aztec iconography; many of the soldier classes were associated with Jaguars. The Aztecs even believed that children born on the jaguar date glyphs would become great and aggressive warriors.

Animals and plants had many different meanings in Aztec society and sculptural iconography. Those covered here are just a few vital examples that have been preserved in sculpture. But from Dogs being guides through the afterlife to the cactus as a sign of imperial power, the Aztec’s paid an incredible amount of attention to the natural world around them. They attempted to piece it together to create an understanding of that world.

Materials

Aztec sculptures were constructed from a variety of materials, mostly stone ranging from volcanic rock to sandstone and basalt.Other materials were more perishable, like wood, and even dough. More special materials were also often taken from surrounding tribute lands, and used in the sculptures as examples of the Aztec affluence in the area.

Stone

Stone sculpture was used for temples and offerings, in large and small forms. The type of stone was typically volcanic rock because of its durability. Greenstone was also used in stone sculpture.

Wood

In the Atzec world, wood was used for furniture, canoes, weapons and tools, and idols. These items were often decorated with turquoise mosaic inlays, and feather work. An example of wooden sculpture is the Huehuetl of Malinalco, a musical drum. There is a rich amount of detail in the engravings which shows the malleability of the material.

Ceramic

There are a few surviving examples of Aztec sculpture in more perishable forms, such as ceramic. One existing example of a ceramic sculpture is the Brazier of a Dead Warrior, which is intact and provides an example of how the Aztecs used ceramic.The use of ceramic in this sculpture shows the Aztec people's awareness of the different qualities of different materials. So in the example of the Brazier of a Dead Warrior, the ceramic was chosen for this sculpture because it needed to withstand the heat of the fires.

Gold

Gold was popular among royals, so of course it was used as an emblem of status and incorporated into different rituals. A variety of items were made by gold, including jewelry, lip plugs, and plaques with relief designs. Unfortunately, these great pieces were often melted down. However, there are few surviving pieces that were sent to Europe after the conquest.

Featherwork

One of the most valuable materials of the Aztecs was feathers. The primary function was decor for a headdress, costume, or shield. The quetzal feather was more valuable than gold. This beautiful material had a unique quality of being iridescent and as result changing colors base on the light.

Perishable Materials

Unlike the long-lasting material of stone, wood, and dough materials are more perishable. Despite the perishability of these materials, there is a great amount of detail expressed in these sculptures because the wood and ceramic is more malleable than stone.

Artists and workshops

The Aztec were curious about past civilizations and their art. Mesoamerican artistic activities started prior to the Aztec civilization and are associated with the Toltecs. The Aztec used excavated Toltec art as models for their own. Because of the high regard for Toltec art, the Aztec word for artisan was "toltecatl”. Since the Aztec were not originally artists, they acquired works from conquered peoples and they encouraged the settling in Tenochtitlan of artistic specialists. The techniques and traditions of other peoples were brought together in the capital’s workshops. From these sources of inspiration came a new aesthetic that emphasized Aztec values and their great empire. Artistic activity was determined by Aztec ethics and life. The calendric days, such as 7 Flower, were propitious for an artist's birth. A morally bad person could not be a good artist. Aztecs were aware of the arts and had definite aesthetic ideas and opinions in the merits of different works, and a clear idea of what they considered to be good in art. They admired technical skill and virtuosity, order and clarity, and realistic representation. Aztec realism required recognizable figures and an expression of the vitality that is believed to reside in all things. The Aztec deemed disorganization and confusion as the worst quality a work of art could have. Clarity and recognizability of individual forms was essential to good Aztec art. Only in their iconography did they prefer metaphoric complexity.

There were various types of social status’ that were associated with the different types of craft. The lowest social class was comprised of female textile workers and embroiderers, who were also often a part of the despised class of prostitutes. The middle class was primarily made up of common craftsmen and merchants. The merchants paid tribute to Yiacatecutli, the god of merchants. They searched for precious green stones, emeralds, turquoise, amber, gold, feathers, and skins. From conquered peoples, the merchants gathered vases, incense-burners, jars made of calabashes, spoons for stirring cacao, and stoppers for jars. However, not all Aztec participating in artistic activities were regarded as a craftsman. They were not considered craftsmen if it was their duty to make the necessary objects for society. For example, mat-makers were common workers who fashioned frames and mats of large, fat reeds. The mat-makers’ guild paid tribute to Napa tecutli, the god of mat-makers. Since it was a social duty to produce these common crafts, their artistic purpose was not different from that of other middle class commoners. In fact, their work was so mass-produced, homogeneous, and formulaic that their names were not associated with the work. Instead of working alone, Aztec artists often worked together in groups. It is thought that Motecuhzoma II’s portrait relief was carved by fourteen sculptors who received payment from a conquered province in Veracruz consisting of food, clothing, dishes, salt, cocoa, and slaves. Crafts were typically created for communal purposes by guild-craftsmen, so the expression of individual ideas was deemed inappropriate.)

Upper class artisans valued and encouraged creativity often producing highly polished, iconographically complex, and realistically detailed pieces that were also new in conception. This class consisted of artists such as manuscript painters who were often priests and educated people. Priests were also the only ones qualified to create and place the tepicmes (representations of a mountain made of dough of amaranth seed and maize) of Tepictoton. Additionally, the younger sons of nobility who had little chance to inherit a title or wealth, were encouraged to become artists of precious materials such as the lapidary arts. These artists lived within the palace compounds. The art of the upper-class was primarily commissioned. Rulers were primarily the people requesting commissioned pieces. There are a few hypothesized reasons for this. The first was their want to leave distinct monuments behind as they conquered new territories. Another was to commemorate specific events. Lastly, the monuments of Tenochtitlan were expressions not only of the greatness of the rulers but also of their individuality.

In Aztec society, the large number of craftsmen worked with the merchants who distributed their art works to the middle class society. Most of the artists worked on commission organized in guilds. The Aztec rulers had controls over the military aristocracy to acquire luxury insignia to reward meritorious services.

Aztec artisians worked in household craft workshops. In late 1980's, specialized workshops have been discovered at an archaeological project site near the town of Otumba, southeast of Teotihuacan. Those workshops manhufactured obsidian core-blade, mold-made ceramics, cotton and maguey-fiber textile. The excavations found that the whole neighborhoods specificalized in certain products because of the distribution pattern. The Otumba industries shows the Aztec artisans participated in network of raw matrial souces, manufactureing, and trade. The highest production period was between the mid-15th century and mid-16 century.

Formal features

Aztec art is characterized by a distinct combination of formal features, and the most notable features are the use of color, shapes, pattern, and line.
Color is found in illustrations in the codices from the colonial period and on some sculptures, though it is probable that paint was included on more sculptures but has eroded over time. In both forms, the color value is vibrant and several colors are used. Vibrant hues are used to convey power, which is seen in the Florentine Codex. Illustrations of victors in battle are brightly colored, while the coloring of the victims is often diluted. In sculptures, artists applied bright colors all over each piece so they would have caught the eye and demanded attention.
Shapes are included in the design of each piece, and these shapes are both geometric and irregular. They are arranged symmetrically in most artworks, most notably in deity sculptures. One notable example of a symmetrical deity sculpture is the Chicomecoatl from the Musée du quai Branly. The shapes of the headdress, face, and body features seem to be arranged along a central axis, mirroring each other. There is some breakage, but it is possible to see that the shapes on the form of the sculpture would have been completely symmetrical. Circles, rectangles, and squares make up pieces of the figure's headdress, and the eyes, teeth, nd nose are created with basic geometric shapes. The geometric shapes are combined with irregular shapes, such as swirls and curving forms. These shapes are often used for certain aspects of costume and natural forms like feathers. A good example of the irregular shapes of feathers is the Feathered Serpent, which uses symmetrical geometric shapes on the head, but has more irregular flowing shapes for the feathers.
Patterns make up a vital characteristic of the formal features of Aztec art because it is included in many forms in many types of work, especially ceramic, Stamos, and textiles. Repeating bands of parallel lines, concentric circles, and diagonal and diamond patterns are the most frequent types of patterns. Patterns are also created with specific symbols because they are often recurring and part of a larger design. This shows that patterns can have a function that is not purely decorative.

References

Iconography

Locations

Gallery

Spider Monkey with Wind God Regalia, c. 13th - 16th C., Aztec

Xiuhtecuhtli-Huitzilopochtli, front and back view annotation