What is the Coatlicue sculpture in Mexico City?
The Coatlicue sculpture in Mexico City’s National Museum of Anthropology is one of the most famous Mexica (Aztec) sculptures in existence (her name is pronounced "koh-at-lee-kway"). Standing over ten feet tall, the statue towers over onlookers as she leans toward them.
Where is the Coatlicue statue located?
The Coatlicue Statue is an Aztec Basalt Sculpture created in 1500. It lives at the National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City in Mexico. The image is used according to Educational Fair Use, and tagged Deities and Gods.
What is the name of the Aztec statue?
Coatlicue statue. The Coatlicue statue is one of the most famous surviving Aztec sculptures. It is a 2.7 metre (8.9 ft) tall andesite statue by an unidentified Mexica artist. Although there are debates about what or who the statue represents, it is usually identified as the Aztec deity Coatlicue ("She of Serpent Skirt").
Are there any other sculptures similar to Coatlicue?
Archaeologists have also found the remains of several other monumental sculptures of female deities similar to Coatlicue, but each display different skirts. One of these sculptures (see photo at top of the page) stands near to Coatlicue in the Anthropology Museum, but hearts adorn her skirt instead of snakes.
Why is the Coatlicue statue important?
The Coatlicue statue may represent this resurrected creatrix, whose sacrifice gave us light and warmth, in the form of her personified skirt. Figure 1.
When was the Coatlicue statue made?
The Coatlicue Statue is an Aztec Basalt Sculpture created in 1500. It lives at the National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City in Mexico.
What's on the bottom of the coatlicue sculpture?
There is a date glyph, 12 Reed, inscribed on the sculpture's back which might relate to the beginning of a new solar era. Archaeologists have also found the remains of several other monumental sculptures of female deities similar to Coatlicue, but each display different skirts.
How much does the Coatlicue statue weigh?
1 mt (3.22 ft) thick, with a weight of near 24 tons. The sculpted figures on the stone's surface represent the central components of the Mexica cosmogony.
How was Coatlicue made?
Battle atop Snake Mountain One day Coatlicue, an earth goddess, was sweeping atop Coatepec (or Snake Mountain), when a feather fell into her apron. At that moment, she immaculately conceived a son, whose name was Huitzilopochtli (a sun and warrior god).
Why was the Coatlicue made?
Coatlicue was the serpent-skirt wearing Aztec goddess of fertility who prophesied the fall of the Aztec empire. Mother of the war god Huitzilopochtli, she predicted that when the cities he conquered finally fell, her son would return to her.
What does the name Coatlicue mean?
Coatlicue, (Nahuatl: “Serpent Skirt”) Aztec earth goddess, symbol of the earth as both creator and destroyer, mother of the gods and mortals.
How many kids did Coatlicue?
Among her children were Huitzilopochtli, the sun god; Coyolxauhqui, the moon goddess; and 400 sons who became the stars. The earth goddess and her family thus represented the universe. Coatlicue was not only a life giver, however. She also was a destroyer and a symbol of death.
How many Aztec gods are there in total?
200 different godsThey had a polytheistic religion, and believed in over 200 different gods and goddesses! The Aztec gods oversaw all parts of daily life, and the Aztecs believed the gods controlled different aspects of the universe, such as the weather, agriculture, fertility, and war.
How tall is the Coatlicue statue?
The enormous statue of Coatlicue standing in Mexico City ’s National Museum of Anthropology towers over the visitor, reaching nearly 10 feet tall.
What is the role of Coatlicue in Aztec culture?
Just like the Earth she could be loving and nurturing by providing the conditions for humankind to survive. She could also be unforgiving and devour human life through natural disasters. As such, she was a mother figure that could inspire both love and fear.
What is the museum in Chapultepec?
The National Museum of Anthropology (Museo Nacional de Antropología) is located within Chapultepec Park (Bosque de Chapultepec), open year-round from Tuesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The entrance fee is 70 pesos; if you are a Mexican citizen or are a foreigner legally residing in Mexico you may visit for free on Sundays. Coatlicue and other Aztec artifacts can be found in the "Sala Mexica" gallery, which is found at the far end of the museum's courtyard beyond the turtle/carp pond.
Why was the rattlesnake linked to the Coatlicue?
The rattlesnake was linked to Coatlicue by the Aztecs due to its association with fecundity and fertility H. Krisp (Creative Commons) Coatlicue, the devouring mother goddess and admirers. Antony Stanley/cc by-sa 2.0. Sideways view of the mother goddess showing her serpent skirt.
Where is the skull of an Aztec man?
The turquoise-studded skull of a long-dead Aztec man sits within Mexico City’s Museum of Anthropology.
Who is the artist of feather, bone, skin?
Feather, Bone, Skin: Taxidermy for Art & Design With Allis Markham
How tall is the Coatlicue statue?
Standing over ten feet tall, the statue towers over onlookers as she leans toward them.
Why was the Coatlicue statue buried?
After the Spanish Conquest, the monumental Coatlicue sculpture was buried because it was considered an inappropriate pagan idol by Spanish Christian invaders. After languishing in obscurity for more than 200 years, it was rediscovered in 1790.
Why was Coatlicue decapitated?
They were responsible for preserving the cosmos by offering their own lives.
What is the meaning of the snakes in Coatlicue's skirt?
After this point, these female deities were then symbolized by their skirts (called mantas ), which could explain the careful attention paid to Coatlicue’s snaky skirt. It functions as a reminder of her name—Snakes-Her-Skirt—as well as symbolizing her as a deity and reminding the viewer of her past deeds. This might also explain why—in place of her head—we have two snakes rising from her severed neck. They represent streaming blood, which was a precious liquid connoting fertility. With her willing sacrifice, Coatlicue enabled life to continue.
How to identify Coatlicue?
We can identify her by her snaky skirt. Her face is partly skeletonized and de-fleshed.
What is the origin of the myth of Coatlicue?
The primary myth in which Coatlicue is involved recounts the birth of the Aztec patron deity , Huitzilopochtli (pronounced "wheat-zil-oh-poach-lee"). This myth was recorded in the later sixteenth century after the Spanish Conquest of 1521. The main source from which we learn about it is the General History of the Things of New Spain, also called The Florentine Codex (written 1575–77 and compiled by the Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún, indigenous authors and artists, and indigenous informants). [1]
How tall is Cozcatlán?
Coatlicue de Cozcatlán, c. 1500, Mexica (Aztec), 115 cm high (National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City) Coatlicue de Cozcatlán, c. 1500, Mexica (Aztec), 115 cm high (National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City) Despite her fame in one of the most important Aztec myths concerning their patron god, Coatlicue did not have numerous stories ...
Mother, goddess, sacrificial offering?
The Coatlicue sculpture in Mexico City’s National Museum of Anthropology is one of the most famous Mexica (Aztec) sculptures in existence (her name is pronounced “koh-at-lee-kway”). Standing over ten feet tall, the statue towers over onlookers as she leans toward them.
Battle atop Snake Mountain
The primary myth in which Coatlicue is involved recounts the birth of the Aztec patron deity, Huitzilopochtli (pronounced “wheat-zil-oh-poach-lee”). This myth was recorded in the later sixteenth century after the Spanish Conquest of 1521.
Why was Coatlicue decapitated?
More recently, a new interpretation has been offered for Coatlicue’s appearance that is based on another myth (recounted in different Spanish Colonial source) concerning the beginning of 5th era, or 5th sun.The Aztecs believed that there were four earlier suns (or eras) prior to the one in which we currently live.
Terrifying and respected
Prior to the Spanish Conquest, Coatlicue related to other female earth deities, such as Toci (Our Grandmother). Several sixteenth-century Spanish Colonial sources mention that Coatlicue belonged to a class of deities known as tzitzimime (deities related to the stars), who were considered terrifying and dangerous.
Created, buried, found, buried, found again
After the Spanish Conquest, the monumental Coatlicue sculpture was buried because it was considered an inappropriate pagan idol by Spanish Christian invaders. After languishing in obscurity for more than 200 years, it was rediscovered in 1790.
How tall is the Coatlicue statue?
The enormous statue of Coatlicue standing in Mexico City’s National Museum of Anthropology towers over the visitor, reaching nearly 10 feet tall. It’s likely this colossal sculpture was designed specifically to make those in its presence feel small in comparison and to impress upon them the tremendous power of the goddess.
What is the role of Coatlicue in Aztec culture?
Just like the Earth she could be loving and nurturing by providing the conditions for humankind to survive. She could also be unforgiving and devour human life through natural disasters. As such, she was a mother figure that could inspire both love and fear.
What is the museum in Chapultepec?
The National Museum of Anthropology (Museo Nacional de Antropología) is located within Chapultepec Park (Bosque de Chapultepec), open year-round from Tuesday to Sunday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The entrance fee is 70 pesos; if you are a Mexican citizen or are a foreigner legally residing in Mexico you may visit for free on Sundays. Coatlicue and other Aztec artifacts can be found in the "Sala Mexica" gallery, which is found at the far end of the museum's courtyard beyond the turtle/carp pond.
Why was the rattlesnake linked to Coatlicue?
The rattlesnake was linked to Coatlicue by the Aztecs due to its association with fecundity and fertility H. Krisp(Creative Commons)
Where is the skull of an Aztec man?
The turquoise-studded skull of a long-dead Aztec man sits within Mexico City’s Museum of Anthropology.
Who is the artist of feather, bone, skin?
Feather, Bone, Skin: Taxidermy for Art & Design With Allis Markham
What is a coatlicue?
Definition. Coatlicue ( pron. Co-at-li-cu-e) or 'Serpent Skirt' was a major deity in the Aztec pantheon and regarded as the earth-mother goddess. Represented as an old woman, she symbolised the antiquity of earth worship and she presents one of the most fearsome figures in Aztec art. Coatlicue was also the patron of childbirth, ...
What is the significance of Coatlicue?
Represented as an old woman, she symbolised the antiquity of earth worship and she presents one of the most fearsome figures in Aztec art. Coatlicue was also the patron of childbirth, was associated with warfare, governance and agriculture, and considered the female aspect of the primordial god Ometeotl. The goddess was worshipped in the spring ...
Who sent the magicians to Coatlicue?
The Aztec ruler Motecuhzoma II had sent a party of 60 magicians to visit Coatlicue in the mythical ancestral home of the Mexica, Aztlan, in a quest for supreme knowledge. However, overburdened with gifts, these hapless magicians got bogged down in a sand hill and the goddess revealed that the Aztec cities would fall one by one.
What is the name of the goddess that eats human corpses?
In art Coatlicue is most famously represented in the colossal basalt statue found at Tenochtitlan which now resides in the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. The figure is 3.5 m high, 1.5 m broad and depicts the goddess in her most terrible form with a severed head replaced by two coral snakes, representing flowing blood. She wears a necklace of severed human hands and hearts with a large skull pendant. She also wears her typical skirt of entwined snakes whilst her hands and feet have the large claws which she uses to rip up human corpses before she eats them. This may reference the connection between Coatlicue and the star demons known as the tzitzimime, who the Aztecs believed would devour the human population if the sun should ever fail to rise. At her back her hair hangs down in 13 tresses symbolic of the 13 months and 13 heavens of Aztec religion. Interestingly, the base of the statue is carved with an earth monster, even though it would never be seen. The statue was discovered in 1790 CE but was thought so terrifying that it was immediately reburied.