Huehueteotl

Stone figure of the Aztec Old God of Fire, Huehueteotl, 48 cms high, c. 1500, National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City.

The signs of old age - the wrinkles on the face and the missing teeth - contrast with the vigorous movement of the body. The position of the hands, and the holes in them, indicate that the god is shown as a standard-bearer: he will have held a sceptre and a bag of copal resin or flowers. He is dressed in a simple loincloth tied at the front.

Adapted from the RA exhibition catalogue ‘Aztecs’, p. 410.

Photo by Ana Laura Landa/Mexicolore