The two fragments on pl. XXVII and XXVIII are the same size—15 inches in diameter. They are similar in workmanship; the special feature, the sprinkled outer band, has already been alluded to. In the first specimen an irregular cavity on the upper face was apparently filled in with cement, traces of which remain. The two holes in each shield are modern, but the two specimens came to us joined with leather strings. They are, however, sections of separate shields.
The last shield of the series (pl. XXIX) has a height of 14⅝ inches. It comprises little more than a third of the original object, hence the diameter must have been fully 15 inches or more. As in the others, we find the encircling bands, but as no part of the center remains, we do not know if it had a figure or was like the others of the series.
Ear-plug
With the deposit of masks and shields in the cave in the Mixteca, now in the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, was the unique wooden object shown on pl. XXX. It is spool-shaped, the bottom flat, the upper part concave and covered with a mosaic of dark-green turquois, with a central disc of dark rose-colored shell. It is 1½ inch high, with a diameter of 1¾ inch at the upper and lower rims. There is no doubt that this specimen was an ear-plug. The sides of the spool show the small gouges of the cutting instrument with which it was fashioned, and the entire surface not covered with mosaic was painted rose-red.
Animal Figures
The specimen in the National Museum in Copenhagen, shown on pl. XXXI, has been described in detail by Lehmann,[101] and our illustration is taken from his photograph. It is considerably damaged, much of the mosaic incrustation having disappeared. The materials are turquois, malachite, shell, and mother-of-pearl. In its original state it was one of the imposing pieces of this art. The upper projecting part rising from the top of the head probably simulated a plumed head-dress. Its extreme height is about 10½ inches, and the diameter only 3¾ inches.
On pl. XXXII are illustrated two animal heads. The first (a), a jaguar head, in the Ethnographical Museum in Berlin, has been described in detail by Lehmann in his paper published in the Proceedings of the Fifteenth Congress of Americanists, held at Quebec in 1906. It is 5¾ inches high, and the mosaic is composed of turquois, malachite, and shell. The other specimen (b) is in the National Museum at Copenhagen.[102] It seems to represent a serpent’s head with a human face in the open jaws. The mosaic is turquois, malachite, and reddish shell. It has an extreme length of 13½ inches and is 8¼ inches high. Much of the incrustation has fallen off.
The animal head shown on pl. XXXIII, a, is in the Vienna Museum, and has been illustrated by Heger in three views.[103] Our drawing is the side-view, after Heger. This object is 4⅝ inches long from front to back. Much of the mosaic has fallen away, and the pieces of jadeite, obsidian, and shell are larger and the work is generally coarser than in any of the other examples in Europe. Heger’s photographs depict a leather thong issuing from a hole at the back of the head.
PL. XXXVI
