Turquois mosaic art in ancient Mexico

by Marshall H. Saville

PREFACE

The writer has undertaken the present study of Mexican Turquois Mosaics in honor of the approaching opening to the public of the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, the only institution devoted exclusively to the study of the aboriginal American peoples ever established; and the proximate International Congress of Americanists to be held at Rio de Janeiro this summer. Owing to lack of time it has been impossible to obtain new photographic illustrations of all the specimens of mosaic-work in European museums, but the author desires to express his thanks to T. A. Joyce, Esq., for his courtesy in furnishing photographs of the examples in the British Museum. To Dr. Franz Heger, of the State Natural History Museum, Vienna, we are under deep obligations for photographs and description of the interesting Xolotl figure preserved in that Museum. Dr. S. K. Lothrop has kindly had photographs made of the objects of this class in the Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum in Rome, and has made certain valuable observations concerning them. To Drs. A. M. Tozzer and H. J. Spinden special acknowledgment is due for their generous permission to illustrate the mosaics from Chichen Itza, thus anticipating their own description of the objects in the work now being prepared regarding one of the most important discoveries ever made in ancient America. The fine drawings are from the pen of William Baake, and the beautiful plates represent the best efforts of the Heliotype Company. Finally must be acknowledged the characteristic generosity of one of the trustees of the Museum, James B. Ford, Esq., who has made it possible for us to publish this paper, and to whom the Museum is indebted for its acquisition of the precious collection of Mexican mosaics which are now described for the first time.

CONTENTS

	PAGE
Preface	[ix]
Introduction	[1]
Earliest Historical Accounts of Turquois Mosaic in Mexico	[3]
The Grijalva Expedition, 1518	[3]
Loot obtained by Cortés, 1519-1525	[8]
Tribute of Mosaic Paid to the Aztec Rulers	[22]
Source of Turquois	[27]
The Aztec Lapidaries and Their Work	[29]
Objects Decorated with Mosaic	[40]
Existing Specimens of Mosaic	[47]
Minor Examples	[48]
Chichen Itza Specimens	[55]
Major Examples	[59]
Helmet	[60]
Masks	[60]
Skull Masks	[67]
Shields	[68]
Ear-plug	[79]
Animal Figures	[80]
God Figure	[82]
Knife Handles	[82]
Human Femur Musical Instrument	[84]
Conclusion	[86]
Notes	[92]
List of Works Describing Mexican Mosaics	[103]

ILLUSTRATIONS

Plates

		PAGE
I.	Wooden shield with turquois mosaic decoration Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York	[Frontispiece]
II.	Stone idol with mosaic decoration National Museum, Mexico	[22]
III.	a, Wooden staff with turquois mosaic decoration, from Sacred cenote, ruins of Chichen Itza, Yucatan Peabody Museum, Cambridge
	b, Wooden rattle with turquois mosaic decoration, from Sacred cenote, ruins of Chichen Itza, Yucatan Peabody Museum, Cambridge	[22]
IV.	Wooden helmet with mosaic decoration British Museum, London	[24]
V.	Wooden mask with turquois mosaic decoration British Museum, London	[26]
VI.	Wooden mask with turquois mosaic decoration British Museum, London	[28]
VII.	Wooden mask with turquois mosaic decoration Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum, Rome	[30]
VIII.	Wooden mask with turquois mosaic decoration Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum, Rome	[32]
IX.	Wooden mask with turquois mosaic decoration Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York	[34]
X.	Wooden mask with turquois mosaic decoration Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York	[36]
XI.	Wooden mask (fragment) with turquois mosaic decoration Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York	[38]
XII.	Wooden mask (fragment) with turquois mosaic decoration Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York	[40]
XIII.	Wooden mask with mosaic decoration Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York	[42]
XIV.	Wooden mask with mosaic decoration Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York	[44]
XV.	Wooden mask (fragment) with mosaic decoration Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York	[46]
XVI.	Wooden mask formerly covered with mosaic decoration Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York	[48]
XVII.	Wooden mask with turquois mosaic decoration, from Honduras Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York	[50]
XVIII.	Skull mask with mosaic decoration Ethnographical Museum, Berlin	[52]
XIX.	Skull mask with mosaic decoration British Museum, London	[54]
XX.	Wooden shield with turquois mosaic decoration British Museum, London	[56]
XXI.	Wooden shield with turquois mosaic decoration State Natural History Museum, Vienna	[58]
XXII.	Back of wooden shield illustrated in Pl. I. Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York	[60]
XXIII.	Wooden shield with mosaic decoration. Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York	[62]
XXIV.	Wooden shield with mosaic decoration. Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York	[64]
XXV.	Wooden shield (fragment) with mosaic decoration. Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York	[66]
XXVI.	Wooden shield (fragment) with mosaic decoration. Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York	[68]
XXVII.	Wooden shield (fragment) with mosaic decoration. Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York	[70]
XXVIII.	Wooden shield (fragment) with mosaic decoration. Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York	[72]
XXIX.	Wooden shield (fragment) with mosaic decoration. Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York	[74]
XXX.	Wooden ear-plug with mosaic decoration. Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York	[76]
XXXI.	Wooden head with head-piece, with mosaic decoration. National Museum, Copenhagen	[78]
XXXII.	[a], Wooden jaguar head with mosaic decoration. Ethnographical Museum, Berlin
	[b], Wooden head of animal and human face in jaws with mosaic decoration. National Museum, Copenhagen	78
XXXIII.	[a], Wooden head of animal with mosaic decoration. State Natural History Museum, Vienna
	[b], Wooden head of monkey with mosaic decoration. British Museum, London	78
XXXIV.	[a], Wooden two-headed jaguar figure with mosaic decoration. Ethnographical Museum, Berlin
	[b], Wooden bird’s head with mosaic decoration. Museum, Gotha	78
XXXV.	Wooden animal figure on haunches with mosaic decoration. British Museum, London	[78]
XXXVI.	Wooden double-headed snake figure with mosaic decoration. British Museum, London	[80]
XXXVII.	Wooden figure of Xolotl god with mosaic decoration. State Natural History Museum, Vienna	[80]
XXXVIII.	Flint knife with wooden handle with mosaic decoration. British Museum, London	[82]
XXXIX.	a, Wooden knife handle with mosaic decoration. Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum, Rome
	b, Wooden knife handle with mosaic decoration. Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum, Rome	[82]
XL.	Human femur musical instrument with mosaic decoration. Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum, Rome	[84]

Text Figures

1.	Bowl filled with turquois. After Tribute Roll of Montezuma	[24]
2.	Ten masks of turquois. After Tribute Roll of Montezuma	[24]
3.	Small bag filled with turquois. After Tribute Roll of Montezuma	[25]
4.	Shields with turquois mosaic decoration. After Tribute Roll of Montezuma	[25]
5.	Serpent scepter with turquois mosaic decoration. After Sahagun, manuscript of the Real Palacio, Madrid	[43]
6.	a, Gold crown with turquois mosaic decoration. After Sahagun, manuscript of the Real Palacio, Madrid
	b, Gold crown. After Tribute Roll of Montezuma	[45]
7.	Pottery disc with hematite mosaic decoration, from Cuilapa, Oaxaca. American Museum of Natural History, New York	[51]
8.	Gold shield breast ornament with turquois mosaic decoration, from Yanhuitlan, Oaxaca. National Museum, Mexico	[52]
9.	Wooden object (fragment) with turquois mosaic decoration, from Sacred cenote, ruins of Chichen Itza, Yucatan. Peabody Museum, Cambridge	[57]
10.	Wooden object (fragment) with turquois mosaic decoration, from Sacred cenote, ruins of Chichen Itza, Yucatan. Peabody Museum, Cambridge	[57]
11.	Rattle of the god Xipe Totec. After Sahagun, manuscript of the Real Palacio, Madrid	[58]
12.	a, b, c, Crowns with mosaic decoration, from sculptured wall, Temple of the Jaguars, ruins of Chichen Itza, Yucatan. After Maudslay	[58]
13.	Mask with mosaic decoration, from sculptured wall, Temple of the Jaguars, ruins of Chichen Itza, Yucatan. After Maudslay	[59]
14.	Mask with mosaic decoration, from sculptured wall, Temple of the Jaguars, ruins of Chichen Itza, Yucatan. After Maudslay	[59]
15.	Mask of wood with turquois mosaic decoration. Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum, Rome. After Pigorini	[63]
16.	God Paynal with shield decorated with turquois mosaic. After Sahagun, manuscript of the Real Palacio, Madrid	[70]
17.	God Paynal with shield decorated with turquois mosaic. After Sahagun, Florentine manuscript	[70]
18.	Glyphs of the town of Culhuacan. After Codex Telleriano Remensis	[74]
19.	Knife handle of wood with turquois mosaic decoration. Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum, Rome. After Pigorini	[83]

TURQUOIS MOSAIC ART IN ANCIENT MEXICO

By MARSHALL H. SAVILLE