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Pectoral

1486–1502 CE
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
The Mexicas valued the shimmering iridescent white of the pearl oyster shell (Pinctada mazatlanica) from the Pacific coast and fashioned numerous ornaments from this imported material. This pectoral (anahuatl) was associated with the Mexica god Tezcatlipoca but also with Huitzilopochtli, Tlahuizcalpanteuctli, Mixcoatl, and Xipe Totec—deities associated with rulership, warfare, the sun, stars (especially Venus as the morning star), and rebirth.



Estos pectorales (anahuatl) de obsidiana y nácar estaban asociados con Tezcatlipoca, un dios mexica, así como con Huitzilopochtli, Tlahuizcalpanteuctli, Mixcoatl y Xipe Totec, deidades asociadas con el gobierno, la guerra, el sol, las estrellas (especialmente Venus, por ser la estrella de la mañana) y el renacimiento.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Pectoral
  • Date: 1486–1502 CE
  • Geography: Mexico, Tenochtitlan (Mexico City)
  • Culture: Mexica
  • Medium: Pearl oyster shell (Pinctada mazatlantica)
  • Dimensions: D. 3/16 × Diam. 4 1/8 in. (0.5 × 10.5 cm)
  • Classification: Shell-Ornaments
  • Credit Line: Museo del Templo Mayor, Secretaría de Cultura-INAH, Mexico City (10-252537)
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing