Eagle’s head

Eagle’s head, stone, width 120 cms., Mexica (Aztec), Postclassic (c.1350-1521 CE), Royal Museum of Art and History, Brussels.

Discovered at the foot of a mountain from the area of Tehuacán, Puebla, the head was probably carved out of a mountain to symbolise the rising sun. Eagles stood for the sun in Aztec culture. Rock temples with carved animal figures like this one at Malinalco were common in the Aztec Empire.

From Aztecs, eds. Doris Kurella, Martin Berger and Inés de Castro, with INAH, Mexico - catalogue for the exhibition Azteken, Linden Museum, Stuttgart, Hirmer Publishers, Germany, 2019, p. 305.

Photo by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore.