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THBHuge Aztec Pottery Figure of Xipe Totec w/ TL
Lot 157c
About Seller
Artemis Gallery
686 S Taylor Ave, Ste 106
Louisville, CO 80027
United States
Selling antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art online since 1993, Artemis Gallery specializes in Classical Antiquities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern), Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal / Oceanographic art. Our extensive inventory includes pottery, stone, metal, wood, glass and textil...Read more
Live Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot Estimate:
$9,000 - $12,000
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About Auction
Live
By Artemis Gallery
Dec 6, 2018
Set Reminder
2018-12-06 10:00:00
2018-12-06 10:00:00
America/New_York
Bidsquare
Bidsquare : DAY 2 : Pre-Columbian, Ethnographic & Fine Art
https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/day-2-pre-columbian-ethnographic-fine-art-3699
Day 2 of an important 2-dy auction featuring ancient and ethnographic art from around the world. Today's sale will feature Pre-Columbian, Native American, African / Tribal, Ethnographic, Spanish Colonial, Fine Art, much more. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
Day 2 of an important 2-dy auction featuring ancient and ethnographic art from around the world. Today's sale will feature Pre-Columbian, Native American, African / Tribal, Ethnographic, Spanish Colonial, Fine Art, much more. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
View Full Catalog (599)
- Lot Description
Pre-Columbian, Valley of Mexico, Aztec Empire, ca. 1400 to 1521 CE. An incredible, terrifying sculpture of the god Xipe Totec, the Flayed One (sometimes translated as "The Owner of Skin"), or rather a priest ritually impersonating the deity. The figure wears the skin of a flayed sacrifice, clear from the empty look in the deepset eyes and the wide, sagging mouth with another mouth visible inside of it. The figure also wears the skin of the body, which comes to wrist and mid-thigh, clearly depicted with thick lines where the body of the wearer is visible below it. A triangular motif is incised into the skin around the chest. The feet and hands - belonging to the living creature wearing the skin - are carefully sculpted. When originally made, the body was probably painted to be a mottled yellow-green-black to indicate the decay of the flesh suit as similar figures of this god are. Size: 10.25" W x 28.75" H (26 cm x 73 cm); 30.25" H (76.8 cm) on included custom stand.
Human sacrifice, and specifically the ritual flaying and dismemberment of human sacrifices, were crucial components of the religious practices that marked the passage of Mesoamerican time. Worship of Xipe Totec required the death by arrow of multiple victims every year to spread their blood into the soil and renew the agricultural cycle; these victims were then flayed and had their skin fashioned into suits by priests to be worn during other rituals in honor of the god. These skin suits were worn until they dropped away, rotting, revealing the living man beneath. Xipe Totec was not the only god who required flaying for his worship in this pantheon; for example, we know that flaying of female victims occurred during the festival of Tlazeolteotl. This sculpture provides us a glimpse of a truly lost past world.
This piece has been tested using thermoluminescence (TL) analysis and has been found to be ancient and of the period stated. A full report will accompany purchase.
Provenance: private southern California, USA collection, acquired in the 1970s to mid-1980s
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
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#140905Repaired and restored from approximately a dozen pieces, mainly on the limbs. Overpainting along the repair lines. Head is in excellent condition and the well-done repairs are unobtrusive and almost impossible to see.Condition
- Shipping Info
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