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Source Description
This object is a musical instrument—a whistle—in the form of a goddess. The goddess’s impressive headdress is made of three parts. Rising vertically is a crocodile emerging above the center of the woman's head, blowing bubbles from its snout. To the left a vulture juts out, and to the right is a parrot or other tropical bird. The birds in her headdress suggest she may be a precursor to the later Aztec goddess Xochiquetzal (whose name means Flower-bird or Precious Flower). Xochiquetzal is associated with love, fertility, and sexual pleasure and is also the patron deity of feather-workers, weavers, and embroiderers. It's easy to imagine someone playing this whistle to the beat of drums and the pounding of Xochiquetzal’s devotees’ dancing feet.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
78424
label
Standing Female Figure with Tall Headdress and Ankle-length Dress
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
78424
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Standing Female Figure with Tall Headdress and Ankle-length Dress
description
This object is a musical instrument—a whistle—in the form of a goddess. The goddess’s impressive headdress is made of three parts. Rising vertically is a crocodile emerging above the center of the woman's head, blowing bubbles from its snout. To the left a vulture juts out, and to the right is a parrot or other tropical bird. The birds in her headdress suggest she may be a precursor to the later Aztec goddess Xochiquetzal (whose name means Flower-bird or Precious Flower). Xochiquetzal is associated with love, fertility, and sexual pleasure and is also the patron deity of feather-workers, weavers, and embroiderers. It's easy to imagine someone playing this whistle to the beat of drums and the pounding of Xochiquetzal’s devotees’ dancing feet.
provenance
Robert and Marianne Huber, Dixon, Tennessee; D. Daniel Michel, Chicago, active ca. 1950s-70s; Ancient Art of the New World, New York; Private collection, January 1991; given to Walters Art Museum, 2008.
date
600-900 CE (Late Classic)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Ceramics
figures
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
39
height
28.9
depth
11.5
dimensionsRaw
H: 15 3/8 x W: 11 3/8 x D: 4 1/2 in. (39 x 28.9 x 11.5 cm)
Source extras
cul
Remojadas
style
Remojadas
med
earthenware
creator_ids
31443
collection_ids
AME
exhibition_ids
3532
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
564d642af14b2e33