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Figure of Quetzalcoatl
1200-1500 CE26 in. (66 cm)
Aztec artist
Mexico
Aztec; made in Mexico
Object Type:
Stonework
Medium and Support:
Volcanic stone
Credit Line:
R. T. Miller Fund
Accession Number:
1944.64
Location: Currently on view
Aztec deity sculptures exist in the thousands, despite a campaign of destruction by the conquering Spanish who believed they were heathen idols. This sculpture represents the Aztec creator god, Quetzalcoatl. His name combines the words for “precious green feather” (quetzalli) and “serpent” (coatl), thus combining the two religious/cosmological realms, the sky realm and earth.
Representations of their gods were made recognizable to the Aztec people by their individual attributes. Here Quetzalcoatl wears his characteristic curved shell ear ornaments and conical headpiece.
[Gallery label text, 2009]
Representations of their gods were made recognizable to the Aztec people by their individual attributes. Here Quetzalcoatl wears his characteristic curved shell ear ornaments and conical headpiece.
[Gallery label text, 2009]
Provenance
Paul Drey, New York (dealer); purchased from him by the Gallery in 1944
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Exhibition List
This object was included in the following exhibitions:
- Pre-Spanish & American Indian Art Memorial Art Gallery 10/6/1944 - 00/00/00
- Around the World in Rochester 2/8/1952 - 3/2/1952
Bibliography
This object has the following bibliographic references:
- Article Scope: Reproduction only. Rochester Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester Handbook. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press, 1961.
- Article Scope: Mention. Elizabeth Brayer. Magnum Opus: The Story of the Memorial Art Gallery, 1913-1988. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery, 1988.
- MAGazine. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery
Portfolio List
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This object is a member of the following portfolios: