A seated figure of Huitzilopochtli, tribal and war god of the Mexica and patron deity of Tenochtitlan, carved from highly polished jadeite and standing only 6.7 centimetres tall, dated to the Mexica period, 1350 to 1521. Scholarship identifies it as the only known three-dimensional representation of the god to survive. He wears two large annular shell pendants on chest and back held by leather straps, a headdress of heron and eagle feathers, both solar symbols, and a cape decorated with skulls and crossbones; a serpent's head replaces his left foot. Armed as a war god, he carries a spear-thrower and a sacrificial knife and holds a round shield decorated with six balls of eagle down, three horizontal ropes and a banner, and a hummingbird, the animal most closely associated with him, adorns his back.
Facts
Origins
Date of CreationMexica period, 1350 to 1521 1 Subject Matter
Depicted SubjectHuitzilopochtli, the Mexica tribal and war god who guided the migration from Aztlan and became the patron deity of Tenochtitlan, the only known three-dimensional representation of him. 2 Rights and Reproduction
Reproduction and CopyrightThis atlas describes and cites the figure rather than reproducing a photograph of it. 1 Physical Form
MediumJadeite (greenstone), carved and highly polished 1 Custody
Current LocationMusee du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, Paris 1 Current CustodianMusee du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Associated With
This source names Tenochtitlan directly: "god of the Mexica and patron deity of Tenochtitlan, carved from highly polished jadeite and standing only 6.7 centimetres tall, dated to the Mexica period, 1350 to 1521."
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