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Source Description
The elite status of this warrior, who holds a dartthrower, darts, and a shield, is revealed by the gold from which he is made as well as his jewelry and sandals. Military accomplishment was prized by the Aztecs, whose imperial expansion was fueled by ambition as well as their belief that they were chosen to uphold cosmic order through war. The purpose of the chest cavity is unclear; the figurine may have been worn as a pendant.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
151964
label
Figure of a Warrior
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
151964
contentType
object
title
Figure of a Warrior
description
The elite status of this warrior, who holds a dartthrower, darts, and a shield, is revealed by the gold from which he is made as well as his jewelry and sandals. Military accomplishment was prized by the Aztecs, whose imperial expansion was fueled by ambition as well as their belief that they were chosen to uphold cosmic order through war. The purpose of the chest cavity is unclear; the figurine may have been worn as a pendant.
date
after 1325 (thermoluminescence date of casting core, 1345–1575)
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60756943
genreSpecific
Metalwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 11.2 x 6.1 cm (4 7/16 x 2 3/8 in.)
cul
Central Mexico, Tetzcoco?, Aztec, Post-Classic Period
accession
1984.37
Source extras
tec
gold-silver-copper alloy (cast)
tombstone
Figure of a Warrior, after 1325 (thermoluminescence date of casting core, 1345–1575). Central Mexico, Tetzcoco?, Aztec, Post-Classic Period. Gold-silver-copper alloy (cast); overall: 11.2 x 6.1 cm (4 7/16 x 2 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 1984.37
collection
AA - Mesoamerica
didYouKnow
The calendar glyphs on the figure's back read "2 Rabbit, 3 Water."
citations
citation
García Granados, Rafael. <em>Estudio comparativo de los signos cronográficos e slos códices prehispánicos de Méjico. Actas De La Primera Sesion Celebr.</em> En México En 1939, Del 27 Congreso Internac. De Americanistas. México: Talleres gráf. de la nación, 1942.
page_number
pp. 419-469
citation
Dempsey, James H. "The Annual Report for 1984." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 72, no. 4 (1985)
page_number
p. 265
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art<em>. Interpretations: Sixty-Five Works from the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. 1991.
page_number
p. 45
citation
Deletaille, Emile, and Lin Deletaille. <em>Trésors du nouveau monde. Bruxelles: Musées royaux d'art et d'histoire</em>, 1992.
page_number
fig. 134
citation
Young-Sánchez, Margaret. "Figurine of a Warrior." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 80, no. 4 (1993)
page_number
pp. 144-147
citation
<em>World of Art</em>. Carson, CA: Educational Insights, 1995.
page_number
footnote no. 4, Appendix A
citation
Young- Sanchez, Margaret. " An Aztec Gold Warrior Figurine (from the Cleveland Museum of Art)." <em>Res </em>29/30 (Spring/Autumn, 1996.)
page_number
pp. 102-126
citation
Symes, Robin.<em> Bull Leapers to Picasso</em>. 2000.
citation
Matos Moctezuma, Eduardo, and Felipe R. Solís Olguín. <em>Aztecs</em>. London: Royal Academy of Arts, 2002.
page_number
p. 253
citation
Maurer, Evan M., and Molly Hennen.<em> Symboles sacrés: quatre mille ans d'art des Amériques.</em> Paris: Réunion des musées nationaux, 2002.
page_number
Cat. no. 88, pp. 114-115
citation
Royal Academy of Arts (Great Britain), Martin-Gropius-Bau (Berlin, Germany), and Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. <em>Azteken</em>. Köln: DuMont, 2003.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 253; Mentioned and reproduced: p. 446, no. 186
citation
Solís Olguín, Felipe R. <em>The Aztec Empire</em>. New York, N.Y.: Guggenheim Museum Publications, 2004.
page_number
p. 231, Cat. No. 156, pl. 122
citation
"Aztecs at the Guggenheim: A Lost Culture Comes to Life." <em>Special Advertisement section. The New Yorker</em>. (November 15, 2004)
citation
Baqeudano, Elizabeth. " El Oro Azteca y sus Conexiones con el Poder, la Fertilidad Agricola, la Guerra y la Muerte." Estudios de Cultura Nahuatl. Vol. 36 (2005).
page_number
fig. a
citation
Wason, Marianne. " Albrecht Durer: On Viewing an Exhibit of Aztec Gold." (2006)
citation
<em>30,000 Years of Art: The Story of Human Creativity Across Time and Space</em>. London: Phaidon, 2007.
page_number
p. 682
citation
<em>World Views: Contact and Change</em>. (Canada: Pearson Education, 2007)
citation
Beuno Bravo, Isabel. <em>Storia National Geographic</em>. Ed. Margarite Casanovas. (2009)
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art, David Franklin, and C. Griffith Mann. <em>Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art. </em>Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2012.
page_number
pp. 118-9
citation
Falchetti, Ana María. <em>Lo humano y lo divino: metalurgia y cosmogonía en la América antigua</em>. 2018.
page_number
106
creditline
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
updatedAt
2026-06-10 19:45:35.972000
sourceId
151964
dept
Art of the Americas
coll
AA - Mesoamerica
med
gold-silver-copper alloy (cast)
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
be0a4d892357213a