Huehueteotl-Xiuhtecuhtli

Stone sculpture of Huehueteotl-Xiuhtecuhtli, basaltic lava with whitish eye filling, Mexica (Aztec), ca. 1350-1521 CE, height 31 cms., Museum der Kulturen Basel, Collection Lukas Vischer.

The remains of the painting and the pierce earlobes indicate that the figure of the god, like many other Aztec sculptures, was realistically decorated. The ‘Old Fire God’ is a Mesoamerican deity who was worshipped in many cultures. He is always depicted as an old man and often carries a smoking bowl on his head, symbolising a volcano.

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. 301.

Photo by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore.