Aztec Sculpture

Tlaloc, the god of rain, appears as a silver figure and as a lidded silver pot that carries his face. The Toltec vessels, round silver jars shaped as seated figures with gold earrings, and the tall Atlas of Tula take the collection back to the Toltecs, whose city flourished centuries before Tenochtitlan. The Teotihuacan face is older still.

The Aztec calendar, or Sun Stone, is the best-known image of the Mexica world. The original basalt disc was found in 1790 beneath Mexico City's main square and now stands in the National Museum of Anthropology. Our replicas reproduce its full relief in silver or in 24-karat gold, mounted on dark stone with a stand, for a desk, a bookshelf or a niche in the wall.

Some of the most expressive pieces belong to traditions that are still alive. The Deer Dance comes from the Yaqui people of northern Mexico, the dancer crowned with antlers and holding rattles; the Quetzal Dance belongs to the Sierra Norte de Puebla and is known for its great circular headdress, here a fan of green. With The Female Dance and the Offering, they read like a procession when they are displayed together.

The Aztecs vs Spaniards chess set turns 1521 into a game: a gold Aztec army faces a silver Spanish one across a glass board that rests on a stone base. It is the centrepiece of this Aztec art collection and a natural companion to our Mayan art, Prehispanic Mexican culture and Skull sculptures pages, and to the wider world of Mexican art.