Mexica brazier of Chicomecoatl, c. 1500, ceramic, found in Tláhuac (south of Mexico City), 104 cm high (Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico City); a conversation between Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank and Dr. Steven Zucker

Terms and key ideas

• Mexica (or Aztec) ceramic art
• braziers and marking offerings to deities
• Chicomecoatl and Xilonen as deities
• the importance of maize in Mexica culture
• the concept of the deity impersonator

Additional resources:

Read about this brazier on the Google Arts and Culture project

Learn more about the Mexica (Aztecs) on Smarthistory

Aztec Empire from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

Read about the Head of Xilonen at the Art Institute of Chicago, which also includes an educational resource about this sculpture