[Museum](https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/seated-man-possibly-huehueteotl/NwERpEnCyXAKXg). The Aztec pantheon included a vast number of gods who encapsulated almost every function of time and life. The Kimbell’s Seated Man was probably a local cult image and may have served as a guardian figure for the stairway of an Aztec temple platform. On ceremonial occasions he may have held a banner staff in his right hand and perhaps wore a special costume. His sturdy body and coarse features indicate that he is an old macehualli, or man of the people. The bold facial scarification and more subtle, abstract patterns on the kneecaps, shoulder blades, and vertebrae suggest that he also represents the “Old God,” Huehueteotl, the Aztec patron of fire, and lord of the center of the Universe. At its most successful, Aztec sculptures, such as this, have a striking and monumental directness that sets them apart from their Maya and other Mesoamerican predecessors.
yoyoo276 on
The detail and expession on this sculpture are incredible.
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[Museum](https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/seated-man-possibly-huehueteotl/NwERpEnCyXAKXg). The Aztec pantheon included a vast number of gods who encapsulated almost every function of time and life. The Kimbell’s Seated Man was probably a local cult image and may have served as a guardian figure for the stairway of an Aztec temple platform. On ceremonial occasions he may have held a banner staff in his right hand and perhaps wore a special costume. His sturdy body and coarse features indicate that he is an old macehualli, or man of the people. The bold facial scarification and more subtle, abstract patterns on the kneecaps, shoulder blades, and vertebrae suggest that he also represents the “Old God,” Huehueteotl, the Aztec patron of fire, and lord of the center of the Universe. At its most successful, Aztec sculptures, such as this, have a striking and monumental directness that sets them apart from their Maya and other Mesoamerican predecessors.
The detail and expession on this sculpture are incredible.