Funerary Urn
Funerary urn with the representation of Tezcatlipoca, also known as the "Smoking
Mirror." In this beautiful funerary urn, he can be seen with his principal
attribute: a mirror emitting smoke in place of one of his feet. Framed
by a feathered serpent, the god is armed for war with his spearthrower
or atlatl in one hand and darts in the other. He wears a headdress with
long feathers, a pectoral, and bracelets at the wrists and anklets. In
addition to incinerated bone remains, the urn contained a necklace made
of obsidian beads fashioned into duck heads , which is exhibited around
the urn. Obsidian is one of the materials related to Tezcatlipoca, therefore
it is not unusual that the collar is made precisely of this material. Furthermore,
this type of necklace is typically associated with urns containing cremated
human remains.
Last Modified: January 14, 1998.
Museo del Templo Mayor, Instituto Nacional de Antropología e História,
México.
Seminario #8, Centro Histórico. Cuauhtémoc,
México, D.F. 06060
©Copyright
1997
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