Head of the rain god Tlaloc
Mexico, state of Oaxaca, Teotitlán del Camino, Mixtec culture
c. 1300–1500
Ceramic, tufa, stucco, and paint
51 x 41 x 46 in. (129.54 x 104.14 x 116.84 cm)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Marcus in memory of Mary Freiberg, 1967.5

From about A.D. 1000 to 1400, the regional state of the Mixtec people, distinguished by its stratified society and the sophisticated skills of its specialized craftsmen, dominated western Oaxaca and adjacent parts of Puebla. The Mixtecs were defeated by the Aztecs in the 15th century, and the tribute they subsequently paid included the works of art in metal and turquoise mosaic for which Mixtec craftsmen were famous. It was in the Mixtec area that this monumental ceramic head was reportedly found in a cave, accompanied by two enormous ceramic toads and a large ceramic hand (all in the Museum’s collections). A similar head in the collection of the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City was reportedly found near Tehuacan, Puebla.

The prominent blue circles around the eyes, the snakes on the cheeks and brow, and the fangs that once streamed from the mouth identify the head as the Central Mexican god of rain and lightning whom the Aztecs called Tlaloc. Peoples of the time believed that Tlaloc lived in mountain caves, the source of fertility and wealth, and his helpers, the tlaloque, lived on mountaintops, where shrines to the deity were often built. Although generally considered beneficent, Tlaloc could bring harm through drought, lightning, floods, hail, and ice. The offerings made to placate him included human sacrifice, especially children. This head functioned as a brazier for the burning of copal incense, whose billowing smoke may well have resembled rain clouds.