Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Mask
Not on view
Although this mask was made in southern Mexico, it bears a crossed motif on the eyelids that is the glyph for gold in Nahuatl (spoken in central Mexico): teocuitlatl (meaning "divine excrement"). Small rips along the edges and heavy wrinkling suggest that the metal was torn and crumpled before being deposited in the Sacred Cenote.
Los artistas mixtecas fabricaron esta máscara creando una fina hoja a partir de una pepita de oro y luego cincelándola en forma de óvalo. El motivo de cruces presente en los párpados es el glifo náhuatl (lengua hablada en la parte central de México) que significa "oro" o "excremento divino" (teocuitlatl). Las pequeñas rasgaduras en los bordes y arrugas de la superficie sugieren que el metal fue abollado antes de ser depositado en el Cenote Sagrado.
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