EXISTING SPECIMENS OF MOSAIC

We willnow consider the existing specimens of mosaic-work. It has been demonstrated, by the extended quotations from the old chronicles and codices, that this art was considerably employed in adorning objects of a special nature in connection with the dress of kings, nobles, warriors, and priests, and the paraphernalia of the gods. We have at present no actual examples of many of the objects which we have learned were thus ornamented, consequently whatever conception we may gain by a study of existing specimens will give us an inadequate idea of the art. It is evident that the most elaborate works in stone mosaic sent to Europe, as noted in the inventories, have not been preserved, a fact borne out by the descriptions in the early accounts of the discovery and “things” of Mexico. Moreover, many of the pieces now in European museums are either in a poor state of preservation or are incomplete.

Until recently only twenty-four major examples of mosaic-work had come to light and been placed on record by printed description and illustration. Of these twenty-three are in Europe. The other specimen was found a few years ago in a cave in Honduras, and for some time was exhibited in the National Museum at Washington, but later came into the possession of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. The twenty-three known specimens in Europe were probably all sent to the Old World by Cortés or his companions.

Some years ago an Indian found a deposit of ceremonial objects of wood, incrusted with mosaic-work, in a cave in the mountains of the Mixteca region of the State of Puebla. These specimens, seventeen in number, are now exhibited in the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. The chief object of this monograph is to describe and illustrate this unique collection.

We are also now enabled to record and illustrate, through thecourtesy of the officials of the Peabody Museum, Harvard University, four other objects decorated with mosaic-work. These were found in the sacredcenoteat the ruins of Chichen Itza, Yucatan, and are now exhibited in the Central American hall of the Museum mentioned. This brings the number of known specimens to forty-five, of which twenty-two are in the United States, and twenty-three in Europe. These specimens are now preserved in the following museums:

British Museum, London, nine specimens.Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum, Rome, five specimens.Ethnographical Museum, Berlin, three specimens.State Natural History Museum, Vienna, three specimens.National Museum, Copenhagen, two specimens.Museum, Gotha, one specimen.Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York, eighteen specimens.Peabody Museum, Cambridge, four specimens.

In this census are not included the minor objects with mosaic decoration, which we will also describe. Of the forty-five pieces enumerated, all but three are of wood; two are human skulls, and one a human femur. As the European specimens have hitherto been described, and in some instances their history traced to the middle of the sixteenth century, it will be necessary only to refer the student to these studies, note of which will be found in the bibliography at the close of this volume. In the present study we have assembled photographs or drawings of all of these major specimens, as well as of nearly all the minor pieces, and drawings of some of the mosaic objects represented in color in the codices. Our pictorial record is therefore practically complete.

Minor Examples

The use of mosaic incrustation in the decoration of stone idols is illustrated in pl.II. This stone figure, 3 feet 10 inches high, came from Cozcatlan, district of Tehuacan, Puebla, and is now preserved in the National Museum of Mexico. It representsthe goddess Coatlicue, mother of Huitzilopochtli, the Aztecan war god. The Sahagun manuscript in the Real Palacio, Madrid, represents this deity with a rattlesnake girdle around the waist; held in the right hand is a staff in the form of a rattlesnake with the head downward, and having depending feathers projecting from the rattles, which are opposite the face of the figure. Above the deity is the caption “Yztac ciuatl coatlicue.” This statue, together with another, of colossal size, also in the Museo Nacional of Mexico, has often been denominatedTeoyamiqui, and again at times it has been calledMictecacihuatl. The turquois decoration is still preserved in the statue illustrated, in the incrustation of the circular ear-ornaments and in the discs of mosaic in each cheek. The teeth are made of white shell; the inner part of the mouth is of red shell; the nose is inlaid with white shell. There are traces of incrustation around the eyes, but this mosaic feature is practically destroyed. In the breast is set a circular mirror of iron pyrites. Around the upper part of the forehead are small holes which probably at one time contained stone or shell inlays. A poorly colored representation of this idol has been published by Brocklehurst, with the title “Teoyamiqui, goddess of death.”[75]

PL. XVIMASK OF WOOD, MOSAIC DECORATION MISSINGMUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN HEYE FOUNDATION, NEW YORK

PL. XVI

MASK OF WOOD, MOSAIC DECORATION MISSING

MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN HEYE FOUNDATION, NEW YORK

One of the most interesting uses of turquois-mosaic decoration was in the embellishment of wooden covers for the ancient books or codices. We are fortunate in still having preserved even a single example bearing traces of this art. In 1896 the Due de Loubat had reproduced the first of his series of Mexican codices, being the first to appear in exact facsimile, even to the ancient binding. This work was Codex Vaticanus No. 3773, a pre-Columbian Nahua picture-writing preserved in the Vatican Library. In a pamphlet by Francisco del Paso y Troncoso which accompanies the reproduction is an interesting description of the book, from which we quote with respect to the covers:

It is of fine and thin wood. Each cover measures six by five inches.... The wood of the covers is whitish, and traces of the brilliant lacquer which covered it may still be seen.... (One) cover bears a character which shows us that this is the point at which to begin thereading of the book. As in modern binding the first cover bears a lettering or coat-of-arms; so too, as a rule, the Indians indicated the beginning of their books, and placed on the first cover the decorative incrustations which indicate that here is the first page.... On the center of the cover, placed two in a line, are four reliefs. At first these appeared to have been made by impression on the lacquer, but Monseigneur Francisco Plancarte, who examined them with a microscope, has discovered that they are composed of a paste with which the Indians fasten precious stones in their settings, and in these incrustations we have the impress left by the inequalities of the materials once fixed on the surface. One round greenstone is left, of the kind used by the Mexicans in their mosaics; it is on the upper right-hand corner of the volume, when held ready to be opened. Below it, in the lower right-hand corner may be observed a corresponding conical shaped depression, and the remains of the lacquer in which a stone was fixed. In the other angles there is no trace of anything, proving that nothing existed there of the same kind as that which remains.

In the Loubat reproduction all these features are faithfully represented, even to the single greenstone remaining in place.

The existence of mosaic objects in the Zapotecan region of Oaxaca was one of the important discoveries made by the Loubat Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History, under the direction of the writer, during the winters of 1898 and 1902. In mounds locally calledmogoteswere discovered stone burial chambers in which skeletons interred with numerous offerings were uncovered.

In the burial vaults at Xoxo, excavated in 1898, practically no personal ornaments were found, but fragments of mosaic objects were discovered in the form of bits of shell, obsidian, jadeite, turquois, and hematite, on fragmentary stucco matrices.[76]

PL. XVIIMASK OF WOOD WITH MOSAIC DECORATION FROM HONDURASMUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN HEYE FOUNDATION, NEW YORK

PL. XVII

MASK OF WOOD WITH MOSAIC DECORATION FROM HONDURAS

MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN HEYE FOUNDATION, NEW YORK

In the graves and tombs at Cuilapa were discovered many personal ornaments made of jadeite, amazon stone, and turquois. In an excavation made during January, 1902, in the great temple mound, or teocalli, dominating the group of mogotes at Cuilapa, a grave was discovered on the summit at a depth of six feet from the surface. It contained the skeleton of a child,whose bones, together with the accompanying artifacts, were stained bright-red by hematite paint which had been thrown into the grave. Surrounding the skeleton were seventeen greenstone idols in the form of human figures; more than four hundred beads of greenstone and jadeite of varying sizes; thirty-five shells of various kinds, perforated for suspension; bits of mother-of-pearl, obsidian, and hematite, which evidently were fragments of disintegrated mosaic objects; but the most interesting objects recovered were a pair of small discs of pottery, upon the flat upper surfaces of which were cemented small pieces of very thin, highly-polished hematite, placed in mosaic. These last were undoubtedly mirrors, although from the small perforation in the center of each we are inclined to regard the pair as having been used also as ear-ornaments. One of these specimens should be in the Museo Nacional of Mexico, where it belongs; the other is in the American Museum of Natural History. The latter, now illustrated for the first time (fig. 7), is an inch and three-quarters in diameter, and an eighth of an inch in thickness. Our reproduction of this interesting object has been made possible by the courtesy of Dr. Clark Wissler, Curator of Anthropology.

Fig. 7

An interesting specimen of the combination of gold with turquois mosaic in jewelry has been recently figured in colors, and described by the writer (see fig. 8).[77]It is in the form of a shield, with four arrows or darts and pendent bells, and has an extreme length of three and one-eighth inches from the top of the shield to the bottom of the central bells. We have described in detail the meaning of the hieroglyph formed by the mosaic-work, and shown that the brooch-like jewel was the insignia of one of the four principalchiefs of the Aztecan army, who governed one of the four wards, orcalpullis, into which Tenochtitlan, the capital of Montezuma, was divided. As a matter of fact, the jewel was found in a grave in Yanhuitlan, in the Mixteca region of Oaxaca. It is the only known specimen that shows turquois set on gold, a combination to which we have called attention, in quoting from Sahagun and others, regarding turquois mosaic on crowns, bracelets, and other gold objects for personal adornment.

Fig. 8

In the collections of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, are three mirrors faced with highly-polished marcasite on their original matrices, apparently slate—the only specimens of this character that we have seen. Two of these mirrors, which were collected by William Niven from ancient graves near Iguala, Guerrero, are perforated for suspension, and all three average five inches in diameter and a quarter of an inch in thickness. With these mirrors were foundnumerous little unpolished cubes of iron pyrites, which may have been intended for use in mosaic-work. There are, however, a number of rather thin, flat, irregularly shaped pieces, with very thin matrix of stone, and with beveled edges, which unquestionably have been parts of mirrors made in mosaic fashion similar to those found in the Cuilapa grave, the only difference being that the inlays from Iguala are larger and thicker than those on the Cuilapa specimens, which are simply thin sheets of hematite. The region where the Iguala specimens were discovered was probably the seat of a people of Nahuan culture.

PL. XVIIIMASK OF HUMAN SKULL WITH MOSAIC DECORATIONETHNOGRAPHICAL MUSEUM, BERLIN

PL. XVIII

MASK OF HUMAN SKULL WITH MOSAIC DECORATION

ETHNOGRAPHICAL MUSEUM, BERLIN

In 1908 Dr. Manuel Gamio conducted an important excavation of an ancient building at the site known as the monuments of Alta Vista, near Chalchihuites, Zacatecas, in northern Mexico. In a large chamber called the Hall of the Columns, Gamio found two mosaics in a small circular compartment in the concrete floor. One of these was a disc of yellow pottery encircled by a ring of wood, the entire object being about two and three-quarters inches in diameter and three-eighths of an inch thick. The wooden ring bore traces of a coating of resin, and many tiny bits which formed the mosaic incrustation were found with it, although not in place. The bits that had formed the mosaic were thin plates of worked turquois, beryl, and steatite. From the fact that the disc contained perforations, evidently for suspension, Gamio described it as a breast ornament.

The other mosaic piece Gamio believes to have been a labret. He writes that “at first glance its shape may be described as resembling the bridge of a violin.... Its nucleus is wood, carved to represent two symmetrical figures of an alligator (caiman), united at the belly. Crowning the head are two head plumes, each having two branches. Above the point of union of the two reptiles there is a square projection with a perforation.”[78]The surface of the ornament had been covered with small spherical plates of turquois, beryl, and steatite.

Near these two mosaic ornaments were found numerous small pieces of turquois and beryl of different shapes.

In October, 1921, the Spanish newspaperLa Prensa, New York, published a short account, received by letter from the City of Mexico, describing what purported to be an extraordinary discovery made early in the autumn. It related to the finding of a stone mask decorated in mosaic, discovered by one of the assistants of the Museo Nacional in a sepulchral chamber in Guerrero. This mask was described as being about eight inches high, the human face being partly covered with an incrustation of small pieces of turquois, with small bits of coral shell above the eyebrows and below the nose. Each eye was formed by an oval piece of pearl shell, with pupils of hematite. The mosaic covering was missing from the upper part of the forehead and the chin.

The newspaperExcelsiorof Mexico City, under date of October 20, 1921, published a photograph of the specimen and a detailed study of the object in a statement signed by José María Arreola, a member of the staff of the Department of Anthropology in the City of Mexico. In this statement Arreola casts doubt on the authenticity of the specimen, pointing out that none of the known pieces of mosaic-work in European collections are of stone; that the surface of the mask is polished, which would make it difficult for the incrustation to have adhered during centuries of burial; that there are no traces of dirt in the cracks between the pieces of turquois, and finally he calls attention to a strong odor of glue which pervades the object. These arguments seemed sufficient to cast serious doubt as to the genuineness of the mosaic decoration of the mask. No such question was raised in regard to the mask itself. In a brief article entitled “Una Mascara de Mosaico Falsificada,” published inEthnos(nos. 8-12, dated Mexico, Nov. 1920-Mar. 1921), the same writer categorically asserts that the specimen is fraudulent, and calls on the reputed finder, Sr. Don Porfirio Aguirre, to present the evidence regarding the exact place where the specimen was discovered in order that further excavation may be made with a view of establishing beyond question the history of such an important and unique discovery.[79]

PL. XIXMASK OF HUMAN SKULL WITH MOSAIC DECORATIONBRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON

PL. XIX

MASK OF HUMAN SKULL WITH MOSAIC DECORATION

BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON

Precious and semi-precious stones were occasionally inserted singly for decorative purposes. In this respect we may simply refer, in passing, to the custom in ancient Mexico and Central America of decorating the teeth by inserting inlays in the upper incisors, turquois, jadeite, hematite, obsidian, and rock-crystal having been used in such manner. Rarely two, and in one instance three, insets have been found in a single tooth; but this form of decoration can in no sense be considered as mosaic.[80]

Another example of the use of turquois as an inlay is supposed to be unique. Many years ago we obtained from Don Francisco Belmar a beautiful tripod vessel supporting against the side a polychrome human figure in the round, representing the god Macuilxochitl, god of dance and sport—the deity represented with the painted design around the mouth. It is not necessary here to discuss the question raised by Seler regarding the attributes and representations of the two analogous gods Macuilxochitl and Xochipilli. The vessel here seems clearly to be Macuilxochitl, corresponding with that given by Sahagun in the manuscript of the Real Palacio, Madrid. What is of interest is the disc of turquois inserted in the clay on the upper left-hand part of the chest, unquestionably there placed to denote some attribute of the deity.

Chichen Itza Specimens

We will now consider some interesting examples from the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza, Yucatan, which were found in the sacred well, orcenote, at that site. This sacred well is described by Casares in 1905[81]as arousing the admiration and awe of the Indians even to this day. It is about 450 feet north of the great pyramid known as the Castillo, and a paved way, several inches high, leads to it. At the brink is a small temple. The cenote is about 150 feet in diameter; the level of the water is 70 feet below the surface, and it is 40 feet deep, with a deposit of mud estimated to be about 30 feet in thickness. Landa writes: “They [the Maya] held Cozumel and the well of ChichenItza in the same veneration as do pilgrims now Jerusalem and Rome, and so they used to visit them, carrying their offerings chiefly to Cozumel, as holy places, and when they could not go, they sent them.” In another place this author states that “they had the habit then of throwing into this well living men as sacrifices to their gods in time of drought, and they thought that these would not die, though they never saw them again. They used also to throw precious stones and the things they most prized. Just on the brink of the well is a small building where I found all kinds of idols in honor of all the gods of the land.”[82]Casares adds: “What Landa, Cogolludo, and all other writers had narrated from mere hearsay, one of the distinguished members of the [American Antiquarian] Society, Mr. E. H. Thompson, has had the satisfaction to realize, bringing to light the truth of these statements, by diligent and intelligent work, the results of which I will not mention, as that grateful and honorable task belongs exclusively to him.”[83]

Holmes wrote in 1895 of the sacred cenote as follows:

The Sacred Cenote is larger, and more symmetrical than the other, and, occurring in the midst of the somber forest, is a most impressive and awe-inspiring spectacle. Its charm is enhanced by the weird stories of human sacrifice associated correctly or incorrectly with its history. The walls are nearly circular and approach the perpendicular closely all around. They are diversified only by the encircling ribs and pitted grooves produced by the uneven weathering of the massive, horizontally-bedded limestones. The water has a light coffee color and looks very impure. It is shallow on one side and of unknown depth on the other. A small tomb-like ruin is perched upon the brink. It is conjectured that this structure had something to do with the ceremonies attending the casting of victims and treasure into the terrible pool. There has been some talk of exploring the accumulations from the bottom of this cenote with the expectation of securing works of art or other treasures, but the task is a most formidable one and will require the erection of strong windlasses and efficient dredging apparatus. It is doubtful if promised results warrant the outlay necessary for carrying out the work in a thorough manner.[84]

PL. XXSHIELD OF WOOD WITH MOSAIC DECORATIONBRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON

PL. XX

SHIELD OF WOOD WITH MOSAIC DECORATION

BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON

Nevertheless, a few years later, as hinted by Casares, Mr. Edward H. Thompson secured the complete confirmation of the traditions concerning the character of the cenote. He brought out of the mud a most amazing archeological treasure. Through the kindness of Prof. A. M. Tozzer we are enabled to include here drawings of four pieces of mosaic-work which were among the many interesting things discovered. As Professor Tozzer and Dr. Spinden are engaged in an exhaustive study of the cenote material for publication, we will not further anticipate the results of their investigations.

Fig. 9Fig. 10

In figs. 9 and 10 are illustrated two small fragments of wooden objects from the cenote which still retain portions of turquois-mosaic decoration. In fig. 9 the irregularly shaped piece in the center is a thin plate of gold. Both fragments are evidently from objects of considerable size. Several wooden teeth covered with the same kind of mosaic incrustation were probably from a jaguar mask or head.

Pl.IIIrepresents two fairly complete specimens from the cenote. Of these,ais a small staff or scepter, the face of which is covered with turquois mosaic, and it is possible that the headdress was once similarly incrusted. Inbis shown a rattle of wood, within which is a copper bell. Only two bits of turquois of the mosaic decoration remain.

Fig. 11

In this object we find in the Mexican pictures an instrument analogous to the one last mentioned. In both of the Sahagun manuscripts, that of the Real Palacio in Madrid and the one in Florence, are representations of the deity Xipe Totec. In the former manuscript is found the name of the god written above the figure,Xippe anavatlitec, translated by Seler as “Xipe, lord of the coastland.” He is an earth deity, “our lord the flayed,” for he is represented wearing loosely about him ahuman skin. He was the patron deity of the goldsmiths of the valley of Mexico, and is said to have been paid special homage by the people of the Teotitlan district, the beginning of the highway to Tabasco. In the pictures given by Sahagun, and in other codices, this god carried a long staff which terminates in a kind of rattle (fig. 11), similar in shape to that found in the cenote of Chichen Itza. It was calledchicauaztliby the Nahua, and Seler asserts that the rattlestick of the god Xipe was carried, besides him, only by the goddesses of the earth.[85]Sahagun describes it as a scepter made after the manner of the calyx of the poppy where the seed is, with something like the point of a dart fastened in and rising from the upper part.[86]The resemblance of the cenote specimen to the one shown in the Sahagun manuscript suggests that it was brought from the Nahuan region.

Fig. 12

In the sculptured wall of the Temple of the Jaguars at Chichen Itza are represented a considerable number of warriors and priests dressed in elaborate costumes and paraphernalia. Several of these persons wear the typical triangular head-band or crown of the Nahuas, on which may be distinguished turquois-mosaic decoration (fig. 12). Two of these priests or warriors have their faces covered with unmistakable turquois-mosaic masks (figs. 13, 14).[87]This points to Nahuan influence, and we have other instances of this influence both at ChichenItza and at Uxmal. We are thus led to the belief that the mosaics recovered from the cenote were brought to Chichen Itza from Nahuan territory.

PL. XXISHIELD OF WOOD WITH MOSAIC DECORATIONSTATE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, VIENNA

PL. XXI

SHIELD OF WOOD WITH MOSAIC DECORATION

STATE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, VIENNA

Fig. 13Fig. 14

Another example of a turquois mosaic mask in stone sculpture is found at the back of the profile face, in front of the ear, of the human figure carved on the front of stela 11 at Seibal, in the region of the upper Usumacinta, Department of Peten, Guatemala. It was photographed by Maler in 1895, and illustrated and described by him in his monograph, Explorations of the Upper Usumatsintla and Adjacent Region (Memoirs of the Peabody Museum, Harvard University, vol.IV, no. 1, Cambridge, 1908). Morley has deciphered the date on this stela as 10.1.0.0.0, corresponding approximately, according to his method of correlation, to 590 A.D. It appears to have been a hotun-marker, or stone erected every five years, and is placed in the Great Period of Mayan civilization.

Major Examples

The more important major specimens now remain to be considered. As all these objects are of wood, with the exception of numbers 3 and 9, we will not repeat this in our descriptions. They are:

Helmet

The helmet or head-piece on pl.IVis in the British Museum, and was first described and illustrated in colors in 1895 by Sir Charles Hercules Read. From his study we take the following notes:[88]The helmet is hollowed out inside to fit the head and is painted green; the exterior is carved with two projections, perhaps intended to represent the upper mandibles of eagles. The space between the inner upper part of the two beaks and the two outer faces of the beaks bears traces of red paint. With this exception, the outer surface has been covered with a mosaic of turquois, malachite, pearl shell, and pink shell, inlaid or incrusted on a bed of dark-brown gum. A great number of the pieces of mosaic have fallen out. It contains, fashioned in dark-green malachite pieces, two involved animal figures, which Read conjectures are rattlesnakes with crested heads. Judging from the plate accompanying Read’s study (no measurements are given), the specimen has an extreme height of 7½ inches and a diameter of 7¼ inches. The illustration which we reproduce, as well as of the other specimens in London, we owe to the kindness of T. A. Joyce, Esq., of the British Museum.

Masks

The mask on pl.Vis in the British Museum, and is one of the best preserved specimens of mosaic-work from Mexico. It is of cedar, the outer surface being covered with a mosaic of minute pieces of turquois, of a brilliant color beneath the eyes and on the forehead, while on the other parts the color is a poor grayish-green. The face is studded with irregularly shaped cabochon turquoises. The eyes, nostrils, and mouth are all pierced; the first are filled with oval pieces of pearl shell, each with a circular hole for the pupil. The gum surrounding the shell and keeping it in position is gilded. In the half-open mouth is a row of seven teeth of white shell set in the upper jaw. On each temple is set a pierced square of pearl shell.The inside of the mask is painted red. Its height is 6½ inches, the width 6 inches.

PL. XXIIBACK OF SHIELD SHOWN ON PLATE IMUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN HEYE FOUNDATION, NEW YORK

PL. XXII

BACK OF SHIELD SHOWN ON PLATE I

MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN HEYE FOUNDATION, NEW YORK

On pl.VIis shown another mosaic mask in the British Museum. We follow Read’s description. It is of cedar, and the lower left-hand part of the face is missing. Over the face are represented two entwined serpents curving around the eyes and mouth, and the rattle-tipped tails rest over the right and left of the forehead. The whole of the surface of the mask is covered with a mosaic of turquois, bright-blue and dull-green in color, arranged in such manner that the two snakes are distinct in color. The rattle of each snake upon the temples are modeled of the same gum as that in which the stones are embedded, and it seems possible that they were formerly gilded. The mouth of the mask is slightly open and contains teeth of white shell in the upper jaw. There is a slit over each eye and a hole in each temple. The inside of the mask is painted red. Height 6.9 inches, width 6.6 inches. Read believes that the heads of the two snakes were on the lower checks, which are incomplete. Maudslay identifies this mask with that described by Sahagun in the chapter which we have translated (see p. 14), relating to the objects pertaining to the god Quetzalcoatl which were presented by Montezuma to Cortés.[89]In this description only one serpent is mentioned, and Sahagun states that “the head with part of the body came over one eye so that it formed an eyebrow, and the tail with a part of the body went over the other eye to form the other eyebrow.” In the plate the two rattles are clearly seen, and Holmes has published a diagrammatic drawing differentiating the bodies of the serpents. If Sahagun’s description is accurate, this specimen cannot be the one mentioned by him. It is, however, one of the most interesting pieces of mosaic that has survived.

The very interesting mask of wood shown on pl.VIIis in the Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum in Rome. It is one of the best preserved pieces in Europe, and its history is known as far back as 1553. It was purchased for the Museum by Giglioli from Cosimo de Medici for two and a half francs. Itwas first illustrated in colors by Pigorini,[90]and our illustration is from a photograph just received from Rome through the kindness of Dr. S. K. Lothrop. The specimen is 11 inches high and 5⅜ inches broad, being the tallest mosaic mask that has thus far come to light. It represents a human face placed in what appears to be the flat open jaws of a snake or an animal, a common motive in Middle American art. The back of the mask is flat, and there are ovate openings for the eyes. From the nose hangs an ornament of a type familiar in central Mexico. Over the forehead appear what seem to be raised twined bodies of serpents, and from the left of the upper part of the face projects the plumed head of a serpent. We are unable to say if the head of the other snake once projected from the opposite side of the mask, but it seems impossible that the artist would have made this elaborate piece so symmetrical. From Dr. Lothrop’s notes it appears that the turquois around the sides is of a slightly faded color, but the major portion is brilliant and glistening. The materials used are turquois, pink shell, white shell, mother-of-pearl, jadeite (for the facial lumps), and a dull-black stone. This remarkable piece is a veritable work of art, and from the serpent motive we would class it as a Quetzalcoatl mask.

PL. XXIIISHIELD OF WOOD WITH MOSAIC DECORATIONMUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN HEYE FOUNDATION, NEW YORK

PL. XXIII

SHIELD OF WOOD WITH MOSAIC DECORATION

MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN HEYE FOUNDATION, NEW YORK

The other mask in Rome (pl.VIII) was illustrated as early as 1648. This illustration, and the one published by Pigorini (fig. 15), are front views. Our plate, from a photograph taken for Dr. Lothrop, is a sideview presenting interesting features which are not revealed in the illustrations hitherto published. The materials employed are turquois, malachite, pink shell, white shell, mother-of-pearl, an unidentifiable black stone, and garnet. The edges of the orbits and the protruding tongue are painted red, while the fangs are painted white. On the side of the face, below the right eye, is the head of an alligator, in the neck of which is set a garnet. Attention is called also to the peculiar nose and the curling tongue. A considerable portion of the mosaic is lost. This mask is larger than the masks in London and New York, being 8⅝ inches high, with anextreme length, including the protruding tongue, of 11 inches. Dr. Lothrop writes that in his description Pigorini has done scant justice to this remarkable piece.

On pls.IXtoXVIare illustrated the series of masks from the cave recently discovered in Mexico, which are in the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. They fall into two classes, those on pls.IXtoXIIbeing ornamented with turquois mosaic, and so nearly alike in workmanship that they might well be the product of one artist, while the masks on pls.XIIItoXVare different in character, the mosaic pieces being larger and coarser, and considerable stone other than turquois was employed in the decoration. They are all in a damaged condition and lack the chin. All the mosaic incrustations are set in a bed of gum.

Fig. 15

The best-preserved specimen is illustrated in colors on pl.IX; it is 7½ inches high, and 6¾ inches wide. Bands of light and dark turquois will be observed on the forehead and temples. Around the lower margin of the face is a band of blackish to dark-brown stones. On the sides of the mask are two largeblack discs made of a composition resembling charcoal and sticky clay. This substance is present in a number of the other masks, and we venture the conjecture that it may be the material used by the goldsmiths in modeling figures to be cast in gold. Sahagun describes it as follows:

The master gives them the charcoal, which they grind very fine. And when it is ground they add a little clay, the glutinous earth which they use in their pottery. They mix the charcoal with the clay and stir it, and knead it in such manner that the two substances constitute one solid mass. And when they have the mass prepared, they shape it into thin discs which they expose to the sun.... For two days these objects dry, and become very hard. When the charcoal is well dried and very hard, it is cut, then carved by means of a little scraper of copper.[91]

The tip of the nose, as well as the chin, is gone. There are traces of red paint over the mouth and in the circular spaces on each side of the nose. When the specimen was received, the missing section of the lower part of the face was covered with a band of tin, as in the mask (pl.XVI) from which the mosaic has disappeared. From this circumstance we believe that the objects in this cave deposit were used by the Indians after the Spanish conquest, possibly until comparatively recent times. Our reasons for this belief will be found in the chapter translated from Motolinia in our conclusion. If we assume that at certain intervals during centuries the Indians resorted to the cave to worship in secret their ancient gods, we can explain the worn condition of nearly all of these specimens. Undoubtedly they were preserved and treasured for many generations, revered as precious relics of a lost but not entirely forgotten civilization. There is not the slightest reason for doubting their origin in pre-Spanish times.

PL. XXIVSHIELD OF WOOD WITH MOSAIC DECORATIONMUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN HEYE FOUNDATION, NEW YORK

PL. XXIV

SHIELD OF WOOD WITH MOSAIC DECORATION

MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN HEYE FOUNDATION, NEW YORK

The mask on pl.Xis 6½ inches high and 6¼ inches wide. It is quite similar to the one last described, but lacks the encircling lower marginal band. The outer zone is of light turquois, with zones of a darker shade toward the center. There are traces of red paint above the mouth and in the spaces oneach side of the nose. On the left temple are the remains of a black disc of the same material as on the other mask.

The right section of the mask on pl.XIis 7¼ inches in height. The turquois incrustation is light-blue in color. There are traces of red paint above the mouth. The black composition inlay on the temple is square, and contains a biconical depression which does not pass through the wood. Around the eye is a raised design, possibly a serpent’s body. The entire lower zone is at present without decoration, and possibly was never covered with mosaic.

The mask fragment on pl.XIIis 7⅜ inches high. The small section of mosaic remaining on the forehead is dark-blue, while that on the rest of the face is light-blue. There is a black composition disc on the temple, and traces of red paint above the mouth. The marking on the plain surface on the forehead appears to be ancient.

We now come to the other group. On pl.XIIIis a mask 6⅜ inches high and 5¾ inches wide. A portion of the chin still remains, with mosaic decoration, indicating that the missing chins in the other masks were probably thus embellished. In general appearance this specimen differs widely from those just described. The pieces used in the mosaic are rougher in shape and larger. A few bits of bright-green turquois are found on the forehead, but the rest of the incrustation is a stone of a brownish- or grayish-green color. The distinctive feature is the band which encircles the forehead, running downward and ending at the sides of the nose. It is of black composition, but is highly polished, and there are pieces of light-brown color. Traces of red paint appear above the mouth.

The mask on pl.XIVis 6¾ inches high and 5¼ inches wide. It lacks the chin, but still retains a goodly part of the mosaic. This specimen is somewhat different in treatment from the others, closely resembling in technique the mask fragment which follows on pl.XV. The mass of incrustation is outlined by a band of single light brownish-gray stones. The forehead has a mosaic of blackish and dark-green stones, the same effectbeing seen on each side of the plain space at the sides of the nose, merging into lighter zones on the cheeks. Red paint is above the mouth and on the spaces at the side of and below the nose. This mask had a tin band or plate over the missing chin. The space above the eyes is coated black, the material being probably obtained by thinning the black composition into a coarse paint by the addition of melted gum or wax. Two black composition discs are on the temples.

The fragment of mask on pl.XVis 5⅝ inches high. As before stated, it resembles the mask just described. The mosaic, of large bits of stone, is outlined by a line of single lighter stones. The forehead contains a mosaic of greenish stones, and the space above the ridge of the nose has a patch of light-red shell bits. The space on each side of the nose and in the mouth is painted red, while that above the eyes is painted jet black. A black composition disc is on the temple.

The mask without mosaic on pl.XVIis 6⅞ inches high and 5¼ inches wide. The wood is of a light color, and rather soft. We have left on this specimen the tin plate which replaces the missing chin. That this mask was once covered with mosaic decoration may be seen in the fragment remaining at the right side of the mouth. The eyes in this specimen are semi-lenticular in shape, differing from the others which are either ovate or lenticular in outline.

This closes our description of the specimens found in the deposit in the cave in the Mixteca. With them were found some fragments of native paper made ofamatefiber, two of which enclosed regularly shaped small masses of gum incense. In one of these several pieces of the gum were held together by an interlaced string of flexible bark. They provide further proof that the cave was resorted to for religious ceremonies or sacrifices.

PL. XXVSHIELD OF WOOD (FRAGMENT) WITH MOSAIC DECORATIONMUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN HEYE FOUNDATION, NEW YORK

PL. XXV

SHIELD OF WOOD (FRAGMENT) WITH MOSAIC DECORATION

MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN HEYE FOUNDATION, NEW YORK

The next mask to be considered, on pl.XVII, is the only specimen known from Central America, and with the pieces found recently in the Mexican cave are the only major specimens found under archeological conditions. This mask is 8½ incheshigh, and the three facial projections extend 4 inches from the face. It is in the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation. This interesting object was found some years ago in a cave in the mountainous region of Honduras, in an arroyo on the headwaters of a small stream flowing into the Rio Chamelecon, about 25 miles from the ruins of the ancient city of Naco. Hundreds of copper bells of varying sizes and shapes were found at the same time. The mask has been figured and described by A. H. Blackiston, whose description follows:

First in interest in the writer’s collection is a large life-sized mask of white cedar which was covered with mosaics of turquois and other stones set in a thick gum or pitch with which it was coated. Three greatly elongated straight projections answer for the nose and the two lips. Holes were cut for the eyes and two small ones on the sides for the thongs which bound it to the head. A large cavity in the forehead was evidently the setting of the crowning stone of the collection, though of what nature this was we unfortunately are unable to surmise, as it evidently became loosened and dropped out years before its discovery. Along the sides of the face are depressions in the coating of gum for regularly shaped stones about half an inch long by three-eighths of an inch in width, arranged in parallel rows—none of which remain at present. The rest of the surface, as noted, was covered with small turquois mosaics, a number of which are in place today.[92]

Skull Masks

The two final masks to be described are the skull masks in the Ethnographical Museum in Berlin, and in the British Museum, London. On pl.XVIIIis represented the Berlin example, which has been described by Uhle and illustrated in colors, three-fourths natural size.[93]Only the front of the skull has been used, and it was incrusted with sky-blue to pale slabs of turquois. The mask is 6⅝ inches in height. Our illustration is a photograph of the lithograph published by Uhle.

The skull mask in the British Museum (pl.XIX) has been illustrated many times, and is one of the best-known pieces ofMexican mosaic. It has also been repeatedly described, so that it is not necessary to present a detailed description at this time. Suffice it to say that the back of the skull has been cut away, and the front covered with five broad transverse mosaic bands, alternating from the top downward, of lignite (not obsidian, as all writers have described it, we are informed by Joyce) and turquois. The inside is lined with leather, on which traces of red paint still remain.

Shields

Richly decorated shields or chimallis played a prominent part in certain phases of the life of the ancient Mexicans. Mrs. Nuttall, in her interesting and instructive study, “On Old Mexican Shields,”[94]has pointed out that “all authorities agree that the shields were of two kinds. The first consisted of the military shields used for protection in warfare by all grades of warriors; the second comprised the shields carried, for display only, in religious dances and festivals.” In this study Mrs. Nuttall has made the following classification of shields, based on an extended examination of the chronicles of early writers:

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