AN EFFIGY OF TEZCATLIPOCA FROM THE BILIMEK COLLECTION IN VIENNA

Most representations of Tezcatlipoca, the supreme sorcerer of Late Postclassic central Mexico, come from the codices of the Mixteca-Puebla tradition. This important deity was also represented, however, in statues, wall paintings, bas-reliefs, as well as head-shaped ceramic pieces, the latter of whic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ancient Mesoamerica 2020-01, Vol.31 (2), p.343-359
Main Authors: Coltman, Jeremy D., Olivier, Guilhem, van Bussel, Gerard
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Collections
Deities
Effigies
Iconography
Museums
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Summary:Most representations of Tezcatlipoca, the supreme sorcerer of Late Postclassic central Mexico, come from the codices of the Mixteca-Puebla tradition. This important deity was also represented, however, in statues, wall paintings, bas-reliefs, as well as head-shaped ceramic pieces, the latter of which are little-known and poorly studied. In this study, we offer a detailed analysis of one of the best examples of Tezcatlipoca head-shaped ceramic pieces sheltered in the Bilimek Collection at the Weltmuseum in Vienna. We compare the Tezcatlipoca effigy head of Vienna with similar pieces from the Colección Fundación Televisa in Mexico City, the Museo Regional de Cholula, and the Museo del Valle de Tehuacán, all representations being fine examples of the Eastern Nahua artistic tradition. The similarity between the iconography on the Tezcatlipoca pedestal in Vienna and the murals of Ocotelulco and Tizatlan, Tlaxcala, are particularly striking, sharing representations of skulls, hands, and a motif we have identified as a mirror. We also analyze in detail the links between the iconography of Tezcatlipoca with that of the Macuiltonaleque. Finally, we propose the possibility of a ritual use of these ceramic vessels, associated with the ingestion of pulque in the framework of a Tezcatlipoca drinking cult.
ISSN:0956-5361
1469-1787
DOI:10.1017/S0956536119000324