Mixtec Culture, 1250-1520 Ad, Head Of The God Tlaloc

Head of the God Tlaloc
Mixtec Culture, 1250-1520 AD

Speckled green stone.
H. 10 cm
Collection label glued to the inside of the neck.

Provenance:
Collection Pierre (1900-1993) and Claude (1929-2018) Vérité,
Paris Private collection

Comparable work:
Ancient Mexican Sculpture from the Lukas Vischer Collection, p.75, p.77
The Walters Art Museum, inv. 2009.20.2001

The piece, measuring 10 cm in height, features harmonious proportions and pronounced facial features. The ringed eyes, a hallmark of Tlaloc, are sculpted in relief, as are the fangs, symbolizing his connection to the natural and occasionally destructive forces of rain and water. The mottled shades of the green stone lend the piece both aesthetic and symbolic depth: green stone, considered precious, was associated with fertility and life.  

The Mixtecs, renowned for their mastery of decorative arts and refined sculptures, produced numerous semi-precious stone objects, often intended for ritual or funerary use. Tlaloc held a central place in the Mesoamerican religious pantheon, not only among the Mixtecs but also in other cultures such as the Aztecs. Figures of Tlaloc were frequently used to invoke rain, vital for agriculture.