Tlaloc stone figure, Ethnological Museum, Berlin

Tlaloc figure, Mexica (Aztec), stone, height 40 cms., Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Ethnologisches Museum, Berlin.

The two main characteristics of images of the rain god Tlaloc, who was worshipped in Mesoamerica lone before the arrival of the Aztecs, are large, goggle-like eyes and the fangs of a beast of prey. The present sculpture is notable for the fact that all these features are represented by two serpents. The intertwined bodies of the serpents form the eyes and nose, while their heads face each other to form the mouth with its array of sharp teeth.

From Aztecs exhibition catalogue, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 2002, pp. 426-7.

Photo credit: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ethnologisches Museum / Gisela OestreichCC BY-NC-SA 4.0.