Lip plug with gold inlay

Lip plug with gold inlay, Mixtec-Aztec. Gold, quartz, obsidian, width 3 cms., Collectie Paul en Dora Janssen-Arts, MAS, Antwerp.

Wearing gold jewellery was a privilege of the nobles; the selection of jewellery was extensive. Pendants, ear plugs, bracelets, necklaces, lip plugs and ear jewellery were among them. Most of the Aztec gold objects that have survived were made by Mixtec goldsmiths or were delivered directly from the Mixtec by tribute payments. Mixtec goldsmiths lived in Tenochtitlan itself and worked there. They obtained their raw materials from the markets or from tributes.

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. 313.

Photo by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore.