Ritual Impersonator of the Deity Xipe Totec

Description

As a god of the late dry season and early rainy season (May–June), Xipe Totec (“The Flayed One”) expresses regeneration. By the time of Spanish contact in 1519, the cult of this deity was widespread throughout Mesoamerica. This figure depicts a young male wearing the skin of a sacrificed victim, a primary symbolic aspect of rituals conducted during agricultural fertility ceremonies dedicated to this deity. The lines across the chest represent stitched seams where the skin was fastened. Like living seed within a dried husk, the deity impersonator embodies the relationship between death and the renewal of life.

Ritual Impersonator of the Deity Xipe Totec

Aztec (Mexica)

1450–1500

Accession Number

12742

Medium

Ceramic and pigment

Dimensions

H.: 58.4 cm (23 in.)

Classification

sculpture

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel A. Marx