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AztecTemple Brazier with a Face Mask of a fertil

Currency:USD Category:Art Start Price:2,000.00 USD Estimated At:8,000.00 - 12,000.00 USD
AztecTemple Brazier with a Face Mask of a fertil
<B>Temple Brazier with a Face Mask of a Fertility Deity</B></I><BR>Aztec<BR>A.D. 1420 - 1520<BR>Ceramic, stucco, and paint<BR>Height 14 3/8 in.<BR><BR>The overall brazier shape seen here was standardized by Aztec times, probably deriving from both Toltec and Mixtec prototypes. The body of this brazier is yellow ocher, with a pale green rope-like element forming the top rim and a two-inch band of pale green around the bottom. The deity in whose rites a brazier served was set on the front, with appropriate attributes added. Here a fertility deity face is shown with a greenish knotted necklace from which hang maize heads (based on their yellow coloring). The reddish face has three-lobed greenish elements issuing onto the cheeks from the lower edge of the nose, while the hair at top is pale green. Above the latter a yellow, braided headband is shown. Ear covers of yellowish green complete the facial area. To either side of the head pale green pleated paper fans (<I>amacalli</B></I>) are shown. These were a part of the headdresses of deity impersonators in danced rituals. The color throughout is age-dimmed, and there is overall surface abrasion. While the head remained intact, the brazier has been shattered and is reassembled with relatively few areas of replacement.<BR><BR>Provenance<BR>William Siegal Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico<BR><BR>