The Aztecs had no iron or bronze tools. They relied on bone, wooden, and stone tools to create the items needed for daily life and their art. The stones used were obsidian, a naturally occurring volcanic glass, and chert, a hard, dark rock. They made blades, sharpening tools,
And drills from these materials. Using these tools, the Aztecs created massive stone carvings as well as small, detailed figures.
Throwing Out the Pots
Archaeologists have learned about ancient Aztec pottery thanks to one of their customs: When a 52-year calendar cycle came to an end, all household goods were destroyed. By studying pieces of broken pottery and whole pots that were thrown away, archaeologists have learned about changes in Aztec art.
Many excellent examples of Aztec carving are on display in Mexico City’s National Museum of Anthropology. A statue of Coatlicue is one example of large Aztec art. The statue is nearly nine feet high and is incredibly detailed. The goddess’s necklace of hearts and hands and her skirt of snakes are precisely carved.
The Aztecs created art as a form of religious expression and a way to honor their gods. Some Aztec art featured pictographs—pictures that represent words, ideas, or sounds. Common pictographs range from jaguars and snakes to beetles and representations of lightning or wind. They sometimes appear on temple walls.
Statues were mostly made of stone, although small figures carved from jade and quartz have been found in Aztec ruins. Other large statues were made of clay. Some statues were freestanding, while others were reliefs—they projected out from the sides of buildings. Both kinds decorated temples. Stone sculptures represented popular gods or the victims sacrificed to those gods. In addition to the gods, artisans carved figures of humans and animals.
Aztec artists also made paintings and drawings. The pictures of the gods were not realistic, but
The Aztec Bestiary
A bestiary is basically a catalog of animals. The Aztecs created their own bestiary in the form of statues. Existing Aztec statues represent the animals common to their fields and forests: jaguars, coyotes, dogs, eagles, turkey buzzards, snakes, and ducks. there are also statues of toads and frogs, fish, and even insects.
The animals are carved from stone and semi-precious gems. After the Spanish arrived, copper was also sometimes used. Many statues are on display in the National Museum of Anthropology in mexico city, and in traveling exhibits throughout the world.
Were meant to symbolize things about them. Bright colors were used in these paintings. Paints were made by grinding materials found in nature—such as stones, shells, and plants—into a fine powder and mixing them with oil. Bright orange, yellow, red, green, and blue are typical Aztec paint colors.
Aztec craftsmen created masks and warrior art for use in religious ceremonies. Making masks was a skilled craft that was in great demand. Masks were worn for many religious rituals. The masks of warriors were
Designed to frighten the enemy. In addition to masks, ceremonial costumes also included headdresses, or large, fancy headgear. Most headdresses and many items of clothing for religious events featured feathers, and the Aztecs had feather artists to produce these works of art.
Motecuhzoma’s
Headdress
An elaborate feathered headdress has long been associated with motecuhzoma ii. it includes 400 green quetzal feathers and gold ornaments. this headdress was said to be worn by motecuhzoma ii, but more likely it was given to Spain's King charles V as a gift. the headdress was then thought to have been passed on to several different European nobles before ending up in the museum of Ethnology in the Austrian capital of Vienna.
In 2006, the mexican government asked Austria to give back the headdress. Even though it most likely never belonged to motecuhzoma, it is the only known Aztec headdress in the world and is an important part of mexican culture. Under Austrian law, however, the Vienna museum is not allowed to let others borrow it or to give it away. the headdress remains in Vienna.
Few of the exquisite feath-erwork headdresses and outfits made for nobles and priests still exist. The fragile feathers are not easily preserved, and so Aztec featherwork is not very well known. The amantecatl, or feather artist, crafted unique works that were visually brilliant and dynamic.
Feather artists collected feathers from throughout the empire. They glued the feathers onto a backing that was supported by a framework. The feathers used were from the brilliantly colored
Tropical birds of the region. Once finished, a feather headdress or cloak was a remarkably beautiful work of art.
Weaving was also considered an art, although all Aztec women could weave cloth. Even though the skill was common, there were women whose work was exceptional. A weaver with great skill was a woman of great worth to her family and her calpulli. Designs and colors woven into the cloth told where a person came from and that person’s status in society. Cloth gave clues to the religion, hunting styles, important gods, and people in the culture. Today archaeologists use these clues to learn the age of cloth and which people produced it.
Cloth was used for warmth (clothing) and for rituals (sacrifice). It could also be used as a form of currency. In the Aztec markets, lengths of cloth were an important part of the trading system. Cloth could
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Pay for a basket of dried corn, leather for sandals, or fruit. It could also pay the tax collector.
Cotton was the most valuable fabric used by the Aztecs, but they also wove cloth from fibers taken from the agave plant and from palm fibers. Valuable weavings were used as offerings to the gods. They draped the inner rooms of temples and palaces. They wrapped newborn babies and the dead before burial or cremation. A bride might bring cloth as a form of payment called a dowry, which went to her new husband.
Pottery was a practical art form. Pots were used for cooking, storing, and serving food. Most Aztec pottery had red, black, white, or orange glazes. Typical Aztec pottery was not made on a potter’s wheel but was molded by hand. Most pots featured designs related to the gods or to the calpulli to which the potter belonged. The district of Cholula was so well known for its superior red-and-black pottery that Motecuhzoma II refused to eat off any plates that were not made in Cholula.
The Feather Artist
The Florentine Codex is the name given to 12 books created under the supervision of Bernardino de Sahagun between approximately 1540 and 1585. one section of the codex explains the habits and skills that distinguish bad artisans from good ones. Here are some of the qualities of the good and bad feather artists.
Amantecatl: the feather artist.
He is whole; he has a face and a heart. The good feather artist is skillful,
Is master of himself; it is his duty To humanize the desires of the people. He works with feathers, chooses them and arranges them, paints them with different colors, joins them together.
The bad feather artist is careless;
He ignores the look of things,
He is greedy, he scorns other people.
He is like a turkey with a shrouded heart, Sluggish, coarse, weak.
The things that he makes are not good. He ruins everything that he touches.
(Source: Leon-Portilla, Miguel. Aztec Thought and Culture. Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1963.)
World History
