Earrings of Coyolxauhqui

Earrings of Coyolxauhqui, gold, Central Mexico, Aztec, Late Period, early 16th century, height 8.3 and 8.9 cms. Museo del Templo Mayor, Mexico City.

Found within ofrenda 167 of the Templo Mayor.

One of the characteristic attributes of Coyolxauhqui are her earrings. On the stone sculpture which depicts the goddess shattered at the foot of the Templo Mayor, they are easily recognisable. Their original colour was reconstructed in order to reproduce the original appearance of the sculpture.

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. 336.

Photo by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore.