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© Kurt Whelan 2011
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Editorial use
These images are available for use in your own publications, magazines,
brochures, leaflets, newspapers, books (inc. e-books), websites, CDs & DVDs etc, please click on HERE for further details.
Aztec Mosaic Masks
Turquoise mosaic masks of Aztec deities; the rain god Tlaloc with intertwining
serpents and the dark god of the night Tezcatlipoca are shown alongside the
diseased god Nanahuatzin (or maybe the fire god Xiuhtecuhtli).
Aztec Cosmos
This recreation shows the symbolism of Aztec cosmology and creation myth. Two
Xiuhcoatl (fire serpents), their tails at the top and heads meeting at the
base, encircle the sun disc with calendrical images surrounding the symbol
Nahui Ollin (four movement) the current era of creation.
Aztec Directions
The five regions of the Aztec world with their symbolic colours, trees and birds
from the first page of the Mixtec screenfold book Féjerváry-Mayer.
Aztec Duality
Mictlantecuhtli, the god of death and Quetzalcoatl, the god of life poised
harmoniously back to back over the jaws of eternal oblivion.
Aztec God of Rain
Tlaloc the Aztec god of rain in his watery domain under a stormy sky and above a
lake of water creatures.
Aztec Gold
Three Aztec images expressed in gold. On the left is the date glyph One
Flintknife, centre is the Feathered Serpent and right is the date glyph Four
Wind.
Aztec Mosaic Serpent
An adornment to an Aztec priest's ceremonial dress, this Mixtec style turquoise
and shell pectoral ornament in the image of a double-headed serpent.
Aztec Mosaic Shield
Feather decorated Aztec turquoise, shell and gold mosaic ceremonial shield. A
solar disk divides the sky into four quarters each with it's own sky-bearer
figure. A serpent emerges from toothed jaws to entwine a flowering tree.
The Sacred Aztec Serpent
A montage of the many forms of Aztec serpent imagery.
Coatlicue
The mother of Huitzilopochtli, murdered by her daughter Coyolxauhqui, the
decapitated figure is given a face formed by the two serpents representing
flowing blood. She wears a skirt of writhing serpents and a necklace of hearts
and hands with a skull pendant.
Coyolxauhqui
The dismembered body of the Lady Golden Bells. Slayed by her brother
Huitzilopochtli to avenge their mother's death, her severed head and limbs
encircle her semi-naked torso, amongst the remnants of her clothing she wears
the golden bells, like tears, on her cheeks.
King Pacal Hand Shield
The tomb of Pacal in the Temple of Inscriptions at Palenque tells of the death
of the Maya ruler and his descent into the jaws of Xibalba - the Maya
unerworld. The sacred Queztal watches perched on the serpent festooned tree of
life.
The Lady Xoc
The Lady Xoc, from the ancient Maya city of Yaxchilan, dressed in elaborate
robes and carrying implements for blood-letting ritual, invokes an ancestral
spirit who appears as a serpent vision in the smoke of burning copal incense.
Mayan Ball Game
Adapted from a decorated ceramic funnery vessel, two players of the ancient
Mayan ritual ballgame prepare for combat, dressed in elaborate headdresses and
protective padding.
Mixtec Warrior King
The bearded Mixtec king Eight Deer Jaguar Claw, his name glyph above his head,
is shown in full warrior regalia with shield, spears, atlatl spear-thrower and
jaguar head helmet.
Three Mayan Deities
Three Mayan deities with glyphic text and numbers. Adapted from a page of the
Dresden Codex.
Three Mixtec Warriors
Three canoe-borne warriors cross a lake of serpents, aligators and other aquatic
creatures to an island under a night sky.
Tlaloc
Aztec rain deity Tlaloc sends down the rain from a cloud to the waiting corn.
Toltec Warriors
Toltec warrior columns guarding the temple of the moring star -
Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli.
Under the Wasp Star
Ritual offerings are made under a starry sky watched over by the planet Venus -
the Wasp Star of the ancient Maya.
The Wind and the Smoking Mirror
Quetzalcoatl in the form of the wind god Ehecatl faces the dark god Tezcatlipoca
the smoking mirror.
Xibalba
Six cross-legged Lords of Xibalba meet with the Jaguar god of the underworld who
sits on his jaguar hide throne.
