. Ancient Mexico and Central America. Indian art; Indian art. Bells are the most common of all metal objects in Mexico, but few are as beau- tifully elaborated as this example in gold. It is said to have come from a place in Vera Cruz near the Oaxaca border, although it was quite probably made by Mixtec artisans in western Oaxaca. It represents Xqiotl, defined as the twin brother or variant of Ouetzalcoatl and often shown as he is here with the head of a dog. Xoloti carries a shield and spears in his left hand and an atlatl or spear-thrower in his right. His beard is neatly depicted, sharp fan
. Ancient Mexico and Central America. Indian art; Indian art. Bells are the most common of all metal objects in Mexico, but few are as beau- tifully elaborated as this example in gold. It is said to have come from a place in Vera Cruz near the Oaxaca border, although it was quite probably made by Mixtec artisans in western Oaxaca. It represents Xqiotl, defined as the twin brother or variant of Ouetzalcoatl and often shown as he is here with the head of a dog. Xoloti carries a shield and spears in his left hand and an atlatl or spear-thrower in his right. His beard is neatly depicted, sharp fangs protrude from his mouth, and a single tear comes from each eye. In the lost wax process by which this bell was made, the entire object was first constructed of wax; the model was then invested in a clay and charcoal mold, the wax heated and allowed to run out, and molten gold poured in to take its place. Gold hell, Mixtec. Height 2 inches. 104. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original American Museum of Natural History; Boltin, Lee; Meyer, Alfred P. , 1935-. New York : American Museum of Natural History
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Keywords: ., bookauthoramericanmuseumofnaturalhistory, bookcentury1900, bookp
