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Image details

TitleFire serpent Xiuhcoatl

Creator nameUnknown

Creator nationality/cultureAztec

Creator roleSculptor

Creation date1450–1521

Object typeSculpture

MaterialsStone

Dimensions29 3/4 x 23 3/4 x 22 1/4 in. (75.5 x 60.5 x 56.5 cm)

LocationBritish Museum, London

http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=669697&partId=1

Accession numberAm1825,1210.1

SubjectsAztec gods in artSerpents in artAztec mythology in art

StatusObject from Tetzcoco, Mexico

Related content: Chapters (1) Images (105)

Select a chapter below to view this image within the text.

The Aztec Main Pyramid: Ritual Architecture at Tenochtitlan

Eduardo Matos Moctezuma

The Ancient Americas: Art from Sacred Landscapes

Many agrarian and militaristic states have responded in similar ways to the fundamental economic and ideological necessities that confront them. Their responses stem from the particular ways in which they comprehend the universe around them. People depend on nature, and, in their endeavors as productive beings, they actively transform the natural world. At the same time, they also construct a pantheon of gods to whom they ascribe the creative power of all that exists. It is these gods who …

Author

Eduardo Matos Moctezuma

PublisherArt Institute of Chicago

Related print edition pages: pp.187-195

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00118.019

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-14444&redirecttoanchor=12637

Chapter subject tags:Aztec architectureAztec cosmologySacred space, Ancient AmericanArt, Ancient AmericanNahuas--Social life and customsNahuas--Agriculture--MexicoManuscripts, Ancient American

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