The statue of Coatlicue is a 2.7-meter-high statue of andesite , considered to be the image of the Aztec goddess Coatlicue (“she is in a dress of snakes”). Currently stored at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City . At the base of the statue is a relief depicting the god Tlaltecutli (“lord of the earth”).
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| Statue of Coatlico . | ||||||||
| Andesite . 2.7 m height | ||||||||
| National Museum of Anthropology , Mexico City | ||||||||
History
The statue was found during earthworks in the main square of Mexico City on August 13, 1790; On December 17, a nearby Sun Stone (inaccurately called the "Aztec calendar" ) was discovered. The find was studied by the local scientist Antonio de Leon and Gama, who mistakenly considered the statue to be the image of the god Teoyaomkui [1] . Creole and the Europeans, the statue of Coatlicue looked like an ugly and disgusting monster, while representatives of the indigenous population began to worship it , setting candles in front of the statue and decorating it with flowers . To prevent such actions, the statue was buried in the courtyard of the University of Mexico City , hiding it from prying eyes [2] .
In 1803, the statue was dug up to give Alexander von Humboldt the opportunity to sketch it and take casts from it; then she was buried again. It was excavated a second time in 1823 at the request of collector William Bullock , who took a cast from it and the next year put up a copy of the statue in London [3] .
There is a similar statue found in 1933 and known as Jolotlikue (“her dress is the heart”). She repeats Coatlicue almost completely, but is dressed in a “dress” of human hearts, not snakes. Two fragments of a similar statue (or several statues) are also known, which suggests the existence of a whole series of statues [4] .
Notes
- ↑ León y Gama, Antonio de. Descripción histórica y cronológica de las dos piedras. - México: Impr. de Don F. de Zúñiga y Ontiveros, 1792.
- ↑ Leask, Nigel. Curiosity and the Aesthetics of Travel Writing, 1770–1840: From an Antique Land. - Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004 .-- S. 278, 313. - ISBN 0-19-926930-0 .
- ↑ Boone, Elizabeth Hill. Templo Mayor Research, 1521-1978. - The Aztec Templo Mayor: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 8th and 9th October 1983. - Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1987.- S. 25. - ISBN 0-88402-149-1 .
- ↑ Boone, Elizabeth Hill. Incarnations of the Aztec Supernatural: The Image of Huitzilopochtli in Mexico and Europe. - Philadelphia: The American Philosophical Society, 1989 .-- S. 47. - ISBN 0-87169-792-0 .
Literature
- Tales of the Suns. Myths and historical legends of Nahua / Ed. and per. S.A. Kuprienko, V.N. Talah .. - K .: Vidavets Kuprіnko S.A., 2014 .-- 377 p. - ISBN 978-617-7085-11-8 .