Head of the God Tezcatlipoca 🪶🪞
Mexico, Aztec civilization, 1502–1520 AD

The face of this young man, wearing two emblems in his headdress, is striking for its beauty, simplicity, and naturalism. The delicately carved head is slightly smaller than life-sized, and unusually, the eyes and upper teeth are carved directly into the stone rather than set with inlays. This mask represents Tezcatlipoca, the omnipotent deity of the Aztec pantheon, god of war, destiny, sorcery, divination, and the night.

In Nahuatl, Tezcatlipoca means “smoking mirror,” and his name is often depicted with a round mirror and smoking volutes, which can appear on his left foot, headdress, or, as on this mask, on his temples. The two mirrors carved here are accompanied by four balls of eagle down, symbolizing sacrifice.

This mask may once have been part of an offering, and the perforated holes on its back and earlobes suggest it could have been suspended as an ornament, attached to an effigy, or included in a funerary bundle.