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Mexica Chinampanec Xipe Totec

Mexica Chinampanec Xipe Totec (our lord, the flayed one), war and harvest god
AD 1507
Tepepan, Federal District, Mexico
Basalt, pigment
77.5 x 31 x 24 cm
Purchased in Paris
16/3621

Xipe Totec (our lord, the flayed one) was the spirit lord associated with fertility and war, as well as the patron spirit of goldsmiths. He was revered throughout Mesoamerica, especially by the Mexica, whose kings would emulate Xipe by wearing the skin of a sacrificed person into battle. Without any doubt, this is one of the finest and best-known representations of Xipe Totec. He is always represented as a male deity clothed in the flayed skin of a sacrificial victim. A Mexica ceremony dedicated to Xipe Totec was celebrated each year in the beginning of spring.

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