Veracruz, Central Mexico Clay Large Veracruz Incensario - 36.6 cm

Cihuateteo figures from El Zapotal with their hallmark double-headed serpent belt may be a reference to the serpentine goddess Cihuacoatl (fig. 2), who was associated with war, sacrifice, and political power. Whereas the seated, mystical Cihuateteo, such as the present example, were primarily associated with fertility, childbirth and midwifery.


Ever since the late second millennium before the Christian Era, the Gulf coast of Mexico in the region that is now the state of Veracruz has been continuously inhabited by peoples of different ethnicities that created a variety of artworks in a wide range of materials and distinctive styles. The works, made over a two and a half thousand year period, range from imposing monumental sculptures in stone to small scale delicate carvings of shell, jade, and obsidian as well as thousands of objects in clay which show remarkable command of the ceramic medium. Particularly impressive are the ceramic life-size human figures from El Zapotal made by Totonac ceramic artists between the 8th and 10th centuries, which have no comparables anywhere in Mesoamerica. In fact, due to the fine sculpting quality and high degree of naturalism in the rendering of the human figures with gentle curved forms and engaging facial expressions as seen here, scholars have called them “[...] the apogee of ancient Mesoamerican ceramic artistry on a par with the Chinese national treasures from Xi’an” (Wyllie, C., 2008).

The relatively small site of El Zapotal is located about 40 km south of the modern city of Veracruz in a low-lying, very hot and humid region. It has a number of platforms and small mounds covered with lush vegetation, one of which was excavated in the 1970s during several field seasons. The seemingly inconspicuous mound revealed numerous high status and secondary burials containing well over 400 extraordinary offerings, which included high quality ceramic human and animal figurines, among them so-called “smiling faces”, wheeled ceramic toys, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic whistles and ceramic vessels. An assortment of finely carved stone yokes, palmas and hachas was also present in some of the tombs. Penetrating deeper into the mound archaeologists discovered a truly extraordinary U-shaped shrine bearing the monumental sculpture of a skeletal Death God seated on a raised platform - a masterwork of unbaked clay. The side walls flanking the Deity seated in the center of the shrine are covered with relief sculptures and polychrome mural paintings depicting attendant and supernatural figures. Outside the shrine were nineteen almost life-sized standing, hollow statues of women placed in two parallel rows as if forming a procession and four monumental life-like figures seated cross-legged, their hands resting on their knees as seen on this sculpture (fig. 1). Although similarly attired, the sculptures differ in details. They are all naked above the waists, wearing long skirts held in place by double-headed serpent belts. This figure also wears a necklace resting between her breasts, ear pendants and a headdress decorated with rope-like elements. The figure’s face is sensitively sculpted, the down-turned eyes and half-open mouth displaying teeth has a slight smile conveying a sense of humility. Particular attention has been paid to the rendering of the hands and feet showing in great detail the nails and folds on the joints of the fingers and toes. Remains of white pigment on the torso and on parts of the arms and skirt suggest the figure was once completely covered with this material.

The precise ethnic identity of the inhabitants of El Zapotal in the 8th-10th century is not known and like most ancient peoples of Precolumbian Mexico, they did not have a writing system and did not leave written records that would help explain the meaning and function of their extraordinary artworks. Scholars have suggested an interpretation of the sculptural and pictorial program at El Zapotal on the basis of the ethnohistory of the 16th century Aztecs about whom more is known. According to Aztec mythology the imposing skeletal Death God represents Mictlantecuhtli, God of the Underworld, and the large standing female terracotta figures, their eyes closed, symbolize the Cihuateteo, women who had died during childbirth earning the honor to accompany the Death God, while the seated female figures such as this sculpture represent midwives.

Provenance: Adeon Gallery Chicago, acquired prior to 1970, A Coa from the aucion house Artemis Gallery ,USA 1998