Fish

Stone fish, Mexica (Aztec), length 58.6 cms., Musée du Quai Branly, Paris.

Fish were generally associated with the aquatic world and with fecundity (reproduction). They also had connections with such deities as Chalchiuhtlicue, Xochipilli, Xochiquetzal, Mayahuel, Cipactli and Quetzalcóatl. According to historical sources humans were changed into fish after a devastating flood ended the Sun (world era) of Water. Fish are rarely depicted in Aztec sculpture. This example was discovered by Guillermo Dupaix in a house in Xochimilco in 1806. Note the concentric circles for eyes, the open mouth, and large hexagonal scales.

Adapted from Azteques: La Collection de Sculptures du Musée du Quai Branly, by Leonardo López Luján and Marie-France Fauvet-Berthelot, 2005, p.158.

Photo by Ian Mursell/Mexicolore.