31 May 2025 / 11 Lizard
Obsidian mirror
Obsidian mirror, Mexica/Aztec, obsidian and wood, 50 cms x 40 cms, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales - CSIC, Madrid
Obsidian mirrors were a symbol of Aztec rule bestowed by the god Tezcatlipoca (‘Smoking Mirror’). Moctezuma is said to have seen a group of warriors riding deer by looking in a mirror - a reference to the Spanish conquerors*.
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. 309.
Photo by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore.
More Aztec Artefacts
- WelcomeTepoztli (axe)Tilmatli (cape or cloak)Tlemaitl (incense ladle)Video: Aztec art in original colourTlaloc figure, Berlin MuseumMexican/Scottish good luck charmsChicahuaztli (rattle staff)Ichcahuipilli (quilted armour)Rethinking the Double-Headed Serpent at the British MuseumFrom Olmec jaguar into Mexica rain godAztec obsidian mirror in TaiwanXiuhuitzolli (royal diadem)British Museum obsidian mirrorMamalhuaztli (fire drill)Aztec rattle figurinesMarine objects in Ofrenda 126 at the Templo MayorBottle gourd‘Circle of Friends’ figure‘Desert Island Artefacts’Topilli (staff)Important Mexica artefactsSea shell or conch‘The Power of Brooms’Feathers in Aztec and Maya headdresses‘Moctezuma’s Headdress’ - updateChimalli or shield: defensive weapon par excellenceObsidian monkey jarSlave’s collarMexico community educationCoatlicue‘Headdress of Cuauhtémoc’Featherwork shieldGenuine or fake?ThroneXicolli‘Birthing Figure’Stone jaguar’s headChocolate whiskPine torchSee and Be Seen: (‘Smoking’) MirrorsStudy the... FAMILY CHESTPersonified knivesAncient metate at the V&AClay stampsAtlatlAztec potteryMolcajeteCarrying frameStudy the... PETATEStudy the... DIGGING STICKStudy the... HEARTHAztec high-chair?Baby basketMaquahuitlUictliTzictli (part 1)Aztec microphone?Tzictli (part 2)The Chewing Gum TreeChewing Gum used for other PurposesChimalliTeponaztliMetateA family of deities?‘U’-tube‘Host’ figurinesPre-Hispanic marbles, or jacks?
Artefacts in the Spotlight
Whole Archive at a Glance- Xiuhmolpilli
- ‘Personified’ flint knife
- Pottery stamp
- Dancing monkey
- Aztec pitchers
- Water monster plaque
- Xipe Totec warrior
- Aztec fertility goddess
- Toad
- Deified warrior
- Atlatl
- Huehueteotl
- Altar of nocturnal animals
- Mictlantecuhtli
- Chacmool
- Detail from turquoise disk
- Quetzalcóatl-Ehécatl
- Urn with image of Mictlantecuhtli
- Huaxtec female deities
- Cihuateotl
- Solar disc
- Gold ingot
- Man with cacao pod
- Head with lip-plug
- Eagle cuauhxicalli
- Greenstone Huitzilopochtli
- Turquoise Mask
- Censer
- Stone cactus fragment
- Gold pendant
- Jaguar warrior sculpture
- Cactus boundary marker
- Teponaztli
- Codex Durán
- Head of an Eagle Warrior
- Teocalli of sacred warfare
- Statue of Xiuhtecuhtli
- Greenstone heart
- Rattlesnake fragment
- Grasshopper
- Gold disc
- Feathered serpent 1 - Reed
- Bundle of years (side view)
- 4-hole ceramic flute
- Greenstone beads
- Ear-spools
- Teotihuacán shell trumpet
- Macehualli (commoner)
- Pato loco
- Squash
- Head of Quetzalcóatl
- Head of a youth
- Ballgame offering
- Funeral casket
- Chalchihuitl glyph
- Templo Mayor dedication stone
- Reproduction chalice cover
- Fire serpent
- Wind god mirror
- Staghorn sceptre
- Miniature chac mool
- Stone teponaztli sculpture
- Stone bust of Quetzalcóatl
- Skull goblets
- Stone altar of skulls
- Skull and crossbones dish
- Woman with child
- Giant shell sculpture
- Olmec altar with two small human figures
- Eagle and Jaguar talking
- Chicahuaztli
- Altar with the date 10 Rabbit
- Head of a feathered serpent
- Hourglass-shaped goblets
- Fragment of a stone frieze
- Ceramic figurine of a woman in festive attire with a child
- Funerary urn with lid
- Coiled Mexica fire serpent (‘xiuhcóatl’)
- Altar of the warriors
- Gold objects from the Templo Mayor
- Maya Stone Lintel
- Wooden Mexica ceremonial shield with inlay
- Maya jadeite plaque of seated king and dwarf
- Incense burner with Chicomecoatl
- Large Aztec stone serpent head
- Aztec coiled rattlesnake
- Aztec turquoise mosaic helmet
- Sandstone seated figure of Mictlantecuhtli
- Mixtec jug with Monarch butterfly in the British Museum
- Aztec golden eagle bas relief
- Mexica turquoise mosaic animal head
- Jaguar head pendant
- Aztec or Mexica wooden two toned tongue drum
- Codex Moctezuma
- Enconchado series 1
- Aztec stone coyote
- Aztec stone omichicahuaztli rasp
- Cihuatéotl (2)
- Codex Mendoza
- Aztec stone rabbit figure
- Aztec pipes in form of ducks
- Mexica seated couple
- Fragment of an eagle vessel with the date 2 Reed
- Screen with scenes from the conquest of Mexico
- Aztec stone fish sculpture
- Aztec teponaztli in Paris
- Huaxtec shell pendant
- Aztec quartz rabbit pendant
- Head of unidentified Aztec goddess
- Twins carrying box
- Olmec Huehueteotl figure
- Cihuateotl figure from Veracruz
- Figure of man with jaguar nahual from Veracruz
- Pottery figure of a Nayarit drummer
- Bat Incense burner from Veracruz
- Decapitated ballplayer
- Sky throne sculpture from Veracruz
- Jadeite figurine of an Aztec eagle warrior
- Stylised Aztec human head
- Manuscript tracing of a large oval bas-relief sculpture
- Codex Zouche-Nuttall
- Stone Aztec serpent figure
- Chicomecóatl
- Aztec stone lizard sculpture
- Codex Cozcatzin
- Model Aztec ballcourt
- Nine link Mixtec-Aztec gold necklace
- Almena
- Human skull from the skull rack tzompantli
- Aztec obsidian mirror
- Head of the god Xochipilli
- Mictlantecuhtli (2)
- Prehispanic mask of 3 ages
- Aztec tripod ceremonial plate
- Mixtec-Aztec lip plug with gold inlay
- Two feather shields
- Reclining jaguar
- Tlaloc stone relief
- Gold bird pendant
- ‘13-Jaguar’ Aztec stone relief
- Tlaxcalan lienzo Vischer II
- Stone sculpture of Huehueteotl-Xiuhtecuhtli
- Tlaxcalan carrier figure
- Aztec copper axe money
- Gold earrings of Coyolxauhqui
- Stone owl
- Smiling figure from Veracruz
- Miniature Aztec eagle warrior figure
- Aztec stone snake sculpture
- Ancient Mexican seashells pendant
- Aztec stone dog sculpture
- Ceramic double flute
- 3 female figurines holding infants
- Ceremonial atlatl
- Xipe Totec figure
- Seated figure of Xochipilli
- Mixtec teponaztli
- Stone butterfly
- Aztec stone relief with eagle and snake
- Tripod dish
- Mould for small figurines
- Turtle with human face
- Mixtec tortoiseshell necklace
- Stone tool for paper making
- Aztec turquoise mosaic bird head mask
- Aztec vessel with skull motif
- Tizapán box
- Warrior teponaztli drum
- Mixtec ceramic cup with underworld god figure
- Miniature Aztec model temple
- Eagle’s head
- Pulque beaker
- Aztec rain god figurine
- Aztec relief with maize goddess Chicomecóatl
- Mapa de Tequaltiche 1584
- Mictecacíhuatl
- Stone box with calendar glyph
- Rattle bowl
- Tlaloc stone figure
- Two Teotihuacan masks
- Armadillo sculpture
- Maize carriers
- Chicomecoatl statue, Berlin
- Seated old man
- Resting jaguar
- Standard bearer
- Eagle head
- Stone figure of Aztec water goddess Chalchiuhtlicue
- Model double temple
- Cicada
- Seated woman
- Stone torso
- Skull dish
- Day of the Dead display
- Aztec gold bird skeleton
- Stone head of an old man
- Dog shaped funerary urn
- Miniature Aztec canoe, rudder and oar
- Xipe Totec mask
- Huaxtec figure of old man and boy
Artefacts of the Week
Whole Archive at a Glance- Cholula Temple
- Snake Sculpture
- Cuauhxicalli
- Featherwork Shield
- Xipe Totec mask
- Coyolxauhqui
- Quetzalcóatl mask
- Rattlesnake
- Ometecuhtli
- Twin-headed snake
- Quetzalcóatl/Venus
- Tezcatlipoca mask
- Stone statues
- Incense burner
- Feathered Serpent
- Dancers’ whistles
- Tonatiuh relief
- Turquoise encrusted shield
- Red Temple Excavation
- Conch shell adornment
- Eagle bowl
- Domestic pottery
- Palace ruins
- Pottery dish
- Cocoa vessel
- Macaw ocarina
- Small Aztec flutes
- Pottery stamps
- Tongue drum
- Spear throwers
- Mixtec gold pectoral
- Gold jewellery
- Colonial chalice cover
- Household figures
- Model temple
- Eagle-head pipe
- Xipe Totec stone figure
- Xiuhtecuhtli
- Tonatiuh and movement
- Xochipilli or Xochiquetzal
- Xiuhcóatl at Tenayuca
- Head of Xochiquetzal
- Ozomatli
- Coyolxauhqui
- Coatlicue (1)
- Coatlicue (2)
- Snake wall
- Small pottery idol
- Pottery dishes
- More Aztec pottery
- Spear throwers (back)
- Mixtec sun pendant
- Detail of Moctezuma's headdress
- Xipe Totec head
- Xochiquetzal
- Mictlancihuatl
- Xolotl
- Wind god/porter
- Small pottery idol
- Seated figure
- Household Gods
- Collapsed skullrack