28 May 2025 / 8 Alligator
The British Museum, London
Figure in the Mexican Gallery, British Museum
The British Museum’s Mexican Gallery opened in 1992.
Maya and Aztec cultures are well represented in the British Museum's collections, which include (in the Mexican Gallery) a Mixtec codex, life-size stone sculptures, carved lintels from the Maya city of Yaxchilan and a famous collection of Mixtec-Aztec turquoise mosaics.
Unique pieces in the Mexican Gallery to look out for include: Quetzalcóatl's famous 'butterfly' turquoise mosaic mask (shown), a real Aztec sacrificial knife, the deerskin Codex Nuttall (replica), a stone coiled rattle snake, three wooden teponaztlis (tongue drums), and a stone fire serpent pointing up at the sky (representing lightning) at the entrance.
Mexicolore have and continue to run many workshop sessions for schools and families within the BM over the last 15 years and more.
For a brief guide to some of the resources available online from the BM on the Aztecs, go to our main Aztec Links pages (link below).
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Figure in the Mexican Gallery, British Museum
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