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What it is : A turquoise - encrust wooden mask from theAztec civilization
Where it is from : Somewhere in Mesoamerica
A 16th-century mask made out of wood and tiled with turquoise may represent Xiuhtecuhtli, the Aztec god of fire.
When it was made : Between 1400 and 1521
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What it assure us about the past tense :
This mask , which is on show at the British Museum in London , is one of several turquoise objects that the Spanish conquistadorHernán Cortéslikely took from the Aztec Empire as treasure in the former 16th century .
The mask was carved out of Spanish cedarwood and is decorated with turquoise mosaic pieces , mother - of - pearl eyes rimmed with atomic number 79 , and conch shield teeth , according to theBritish Museum . The interior is covered in Callimorpha jacobeae , a brick - cherry mineral that contains mercury . It is about 6.6 column inch ( 16.8 centimeter ) tall and has pocket-size holes at the temples , suggest the mask was once worn or affixed to something .
Xiuhtecuhtli , whose name stand for " turquoise lord " in the Nahuatl language , was the Aztec " young fervidness " god . The Aztecs kept a " holy flaming " unceasingly burning in the Fire Temple at Tenochtitlan , from which all other fires were lit .
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Once every 52 days , Aztec priests let the ardour die out out . The gamy non-Christian priest , wearing a turquoise masquerade party represent Xiuhtecuhtli , would then perform aXiuhtlalpilli , or " raw fire ceremonial " , which involved starting a fervour on the chest of a sacrificial dupe . When the fire were high , the dupe ’s heart was cut out and cast into the fire . This ritual ensured the Aztec civilization was renewed for another half 100 . The darker turquoise mosaic piece on the cheeks and nose of the masquerade party appear to form a butterfly stroke , another symbol of reclamation associated with Xiuhtecuhtli .
But it ’s not clear if the mask was ever worn or if it represents Xiuhtecuhtli . In fact , the masquerade party ’s stir turquoise may depict the wart - faced godNanahuatzin , who , according to Aztec mythology , sacrificed himself to the fire and come forth to become the sunlight .
