Pre-Columbian, Mexico, Aztec Empire, ca. 1400 to 1521 CE. Wow! An incredibly preserved, extremely rare symmetrical cedro wood pendant with turquoise applied in a mosaic style over a thin layer of pine resin and copal. At the center is a slightly raised circle with incredibly tiny turquoise mosaic tiles. The shape of the wooden pendant is rectangular, with deep grooves excavated from the shorter sides. The round circle at the center resembles an eye. The wood is perforated vertically at the edges of the grooves and would have been strung for suspension as a pendant or pectoral. The artwork represents an Aztec Lord as Xiuhtecuhtli, the god known as both the "Lord of Fire" and "Turquoise Lord". Turquoise was the symbolic equivalent of fire for the Aztecs, and every Aztec home kept a permanent fire in honor of Xiuhtecuhtli. Size: 7.6" W x 1.65" H (19.3 cm x 4.2 cm); 5.9" H (15 cm) on included custom stand.
This symmetrical turquoise mosaic pendant is instantly recognizable as being in the same style as the famous double serpent pendant held by the British Museum (https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=663692&partId=1&searchText=double-headed-serpent&page=1). Similar large effigies of gods worn as pectorals are illustrated in folio 72 of the Codex Magliabechiano depicting the earth goddess Cihuacoatl, and in folios 9, 10, and 34 of the Codex Borbonicus. Larger turquoise mosaics graced important spaces, like the Templo Mayor in Tenochtitlan.
Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-Stuart and Scott Gentling collection, Dallas, Texas, USA. Scott Gentling painted the official gubernatorial portrait of George W. Bush for the Texas Capital.
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#148449
Condition
Intact, with no restoration. Some of the turquoise is lost as shown. Light deposits and patina on surface.