Featured Mexican figure ~

Discussion in 'Tribal Art' started by Drew, Nov 4, 2021.

  1. Drew

    Drew Well-Known Member

    Is the form of this newer figure at all historic to Mexico's history, or is it just a way off base creation ? He's made of terracotta and stands about a foot tall. s-l1600 - 2021-11-04T083239.144.jpg s-l1600 - 2021-11-04T083222.638.jpg s-l1600 - 2021-11-04T083153.423.jpg
     
    Last edited: Nov 4, 2021
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  2. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    It has the flattened forehead of the Classic Maya. I don't know if there is a pre-Columbian Maya figurine like this. The moustache is highly unusual.
     
    Last edited: Nov 4, 2021
  3. 2manybooks

    2manybooks Well-Known Member

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  4. Jeff Drum

    Jeff Drum Well-Known Member

    Or maybe this...
     
  5. Lark

    Lark Well-Known Member

    Back when SNL was funny!
     
  6. komokwa

    komokwa The Truth is out there...!

    " u people sure know how to suck it back........

    & I can't stop laughing......................:hilarious::hilarious::hilarious:
     
  7. Potteryplease

    Potteryplease Well-Known Member

    I like this guy. He has real presence.
     
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  8. Drew

    Drew Well-Known Member

    Haven't seen any similar pieces, man w/bird feathers. Though bird imagery is certainly seen in Mexican culture. Despite being a newer figure, he's got character, I like him.
     
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  9. reader

    reader Well-Known Member

    I don’t think he’s wearing feathers. I think he’s wearing the flayed skin of a human sacrifice-charming as that image is.
     
    Last edited: Nov 6, 2021
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  10. Potteryplease

    Potteryplease Well-Known Member

    I was thinking they were leaves...
     
    Last edited: Nov 6, 2021
  11. reader

    reader Well-Known Member

    Xipe Totec, the Aztec god of spring and regeneration, appears in many Mesoamerican cults. ... Meaning literally “our lord, the flayed one,” Xipe Totec is also associated with the arrival of spring, when the earth covers itself with a new coat of vegetation and exchanges its dead skin for a new one.
     
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  12. reader

    reader Well-Known Member

    Why did the Aztecs wear human skin?

    As a symbol of the new vegetation, Xipe Totec wore the skin of a human victim—the “new skin” that covered the Earth in the spring. ... During Tlacaxipehualiztli (“Flaying of Men”), the second ritual month of the Aztec year, the priests killed human victims by removing their hearts.

    Gotta love those Aztecs!
     
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  13. Drew

    Drew Well-Known Member

    Thanks for the information.... at the end of the day, this sounds accurate and follows the sorts of rituals their culture performed.
     
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  14. reader

    reader Well-Known Member

    it’s definitely accurate. I had to look up the name of the god for you but I’ve seen many different representations of him wearing the flayed skin of the sacrificed victim. It was interesting to learn that the ritual was about regeneration of the land as my understanding had been that it was about honoring a defeated warrior and assimilating his power which apparently isn’t correct.
     
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  15. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    The Maya did all sorts of bloody things, but I don't know of any Xipe Totec priest-like ceremonies.
    The figurine has a tail, so it is likely he is meant to represent a bird-like being. Eagle dancer? Quetzal dancer?
     
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  16. Drew

    Drew Well-Known Member

    Great to have this clarification.
     
  17. reader

    reader Well-Known Member

    The last thing I ever want to do around here is give misinformation so apologies after being adamant if I’m wrong but every time I’ve ever seen those projectiles they’ve represented skin, not feathers although I did pull a drawing of a Xipe wearing feathers but not a sculpture. Do you folks think this statue at The Kimbell in Texas has similar work although not as stylized as the OP’s? This one is definitely flayed skin. 5C0F6E31-EDC0-4287-BF76-E702ECC594A7.jpeg
     
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  18. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    The flayed skin is on the face, which was often the case with Xipe Totec priests or Xipe Totec representations.:)
    You can see how he has two mouths, the victim's on the surface layer of skin, and his own underneath that. The same with his eyes.
    The text says about his body "vigorously articulated body covering.".
    https://kimbellart.org/collection/ap-197939

    I think in this case Xipe Totec is represented as wearing skin on his head, and leaves (spring) on his body. Death and rebirth, two aspects of Xipe Totec in one representation.

    Drew's figurine has Maya features and Xipe Totec is Aztec, but it is possible the maker combined two cultures, of course. But the Maya head doesn't have an extra skin.
     
    Last edited: Nov 7, 2021
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  19. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

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  20. reader

    reader Well-Known Member

    Is the figure wearing feathers or a flayed skin?
     
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