Brazier in the Form of the Old God
- Artist Culture
- Teotihuacan
- Period
- Early Classic period, 250 BC–AD 600
- Date
- c.400–500
- Material
- Basalt
- made in
- Mexico state, Mexico, North and Central America
- Classification
- Containers, stone & mineral
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 114
- Dimensions
- height: 17 1/8 x 18 1/8 in. (43.5 x 46 cm)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Morton D. May
- Rights
- Contact Us
- Object Number
- 206:1979
NOTES
With sunken, wrinkled cheeks and snaggled teeth, this object depicts a character known as Huehueteotl or the Old God, one of the oldest deities of central Mexico. The basin on top of the head may have been used for keeping coals or incense hot. Roughly carved from local igneous rock, the figure and basin symbolically and materially compressed the fearsome power of the volcanoes that ring the Valley of Mexico into the thin, hunched body of an old man. Objects such as this one are found in large numbers at the site, indicating that the Old God was very important to all members of Teotihuacan society, from the rulers to the ruled. Often found on patios, braziers may also have been used in rituals when residents renovated their living quarters.
Provenance
- 1971
Arte Primitivo, New York, NY, USA
1971 - 1979
Morton D. May (1914–1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Arte Primitivo [1]
1979 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May [2]
Notes:
[1] An invoice dated December 1, 1971 from Arte Primitivo Inc. to Morton D. May documents this purchase, listed as "Teotihuacan Incense Burner of Lava Stone 18" square" [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[2] A letter dated July 5, 1979 from Morton D. May to James N. Wood, director of the Saint Louis Art Museum, includes the offer of this object as part of a larger donation [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, October 10, 1979.
Arte Primitivo, New York, NY, USA
1971 - 1979
Morton D. May (1914–1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Arte Primitivo [1]
1979 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, given by Morton D. May [2]
Notes:
[1] An invoice dated December 1, 1971 from Arte Primitivo Inc. to Morton D. May documents this purchase, listed as "Teotihuacan Incense Burner of Lava Stone 18" square" [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[2] A letter dated July 5, 1979 from Morton D. May to James N. Wood, director of the Saint Louis Art Museum, includes the offer of this object as part of a larger donation [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Acquisitions Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, October 10, 1979.