Page 554 - Art In The Age Of Exploration (Great Section on Chinese Art Ming Dynasty)

warriors who had fallen on the field of battle, in
the heaven of the sun god. Their specific abode
was on the western horizon, and their duty was
to rise up at noontime from the west (called in
Nahuatl cihuatlampa, "place of women") to the
sun at zenith, and conduct the fiery orb toward
its setting and entry into the underworld.
The dhuateteo were terrifying beings, as is
evident in this sculptural representation. They
were also called tzitzimime, which can be trans-
lated as a ghostly being. According to Aztec tradi-
tion, dead women shed their flesh bit by bit until
the skeleton became visible. The left arm of a dead
woman was a powerful weapon in sorcery, as can
be seen in the depiction of page 44 of the Codex
Fejervdry-Mayer of the archsorcerer Tezcatlipoca
holding such an arm to his face.
Several sculpted figures representing these
fantastic beings were discovered in the nineteenth
century during the construction of a building in
the center of Mexico City. This was probably the
site of the Aztec sanctuary dedicated to these
women who died in childbirth, which is known
to have been located to the west of the sacred
enclosure.
This sculpture is part of a group of four similar
figures attired only in wraparound skirts (Nichol-
son 1983, 67-68). Instead of hands the sculptor
gave them impressive eagle or jaguar claws that
menace the spectator. Their breasts are displayed
as a sign of their frustrated future maternity.
F.S. and M.D.C.

3/1
STONE Box

Aztec
basalt or andesite
3
3
5
22 x 24 x 24 (8 /s x 9 /s x 9 /s)
CNCA—INAH—MEX, Museo National de
Antropologia, Mexico City
Few archaeological remains relating to the rulers cating the north, south, east, west, and center. of hair girdled with the copilli (royal crown) worn
of Tenochtitlan and of the neighboring peoples Each side also has an even stripe finishing in the by the Aztec tlatoanis. The earrings of these
have survived to our time. It seems that the royal lower section with a row of short feathers. noblemen are also present. Complementing the
burials were sacked and destroyed by the con- The cover of the box also has the stripe and whole is the glyph for tlatoa (king); thus the ico-
querors. This stone vessel is of a type thought feathers motif. On the upper face is another nography of the box derives from imperial power,
by many scholars of Aztec culture (Seler 1904, numeral, the number eleven in the form of a flint the symbol of the tlatoani, leaders of discourse,
746-750) to have been a box for the ashes of one knife, the sacred sacrificial instrument; because of commanders or rulers, and the insignia that dis-
of the tlatoanis of Mexico-Tenochtitlan or of an its ritual character it is depicted with a fantastic tinguish them.
allied kingdom. face with eyes, eyebrows, and fangs. On the side The identity of the nobleman for whom this
The container, on which its original red and eleven circles represent the date. vessel was made is uncertain. Some scholars asso-
blue color is still evident, is in the form of a quad- On the inside, the numeral five in the form of ciate it with Izcoatl (r. 1428-1440), and others
rangular prism decorated on each of its four outer a rattlesnake can be found on the bottom of the with either of the two Motecuhzomas (Motecuh-
surfaces with a pair of little squares with quin- box, accompanied by five discs or chalchihuites zoma Ilhuicamina [r. 1440-1469] or Motecuh-
cunxes. This symbol represents the cardinal that depict the date. Inside the box also is the zoma Xocoyotzin [r. 1502-1520]). However, only
points of the universe, which correspond to the most important glyph, which is a mark of the ves- the latter two governors used the copilli specifi-
number five represented by the five circles indi- sel's royal character. This is the outline of a head cally as a symbol of their name. F.S.

THE AMERICAS 553