| Object Name: | Iconographic symbols of Moctezuma's Throne |
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| Creation Date: | 1325-1521 A. D. | |
| Culture: | Aztec, Post-Classic | |
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| On the backrest of Moctezuma's Throne is a sun disk with the glyph 4 Movement inside it. The disk represents the new era of Aztec rule and their dedication to the solar cult. It is flanked on the left by the god Huitzilopochtli and on the right by Moctezuma II. Both wear priests’ clothing and carry in one hand a pointed bone for drawing blood, and in the other a sacrificial knife. Huitzilopochtli is identified by a hummingbird headdress; Moctezuma is identified by the glyph in front of his head, the royal headdress and noseplug. On the top of the backrest is the grass ball of sacrifice in which were set the thorns used in drawing blood, flanked by two torches decorated with paper strips used in the New Fire Ceremony. The monument is therefore crowned by an Aztec ruler and patron god shedding sacrificial blood for the solar emblem of time, light, and life. By contrast, the lower half is covered with images of death. On the seat, at the right angles below the sun disk, crouches the earth monster with its voracious maw, a skull ornament on the belt; it is flanked on the sides by emblems of war, shields with spears and war banners. Vessels for the heart of the captives are carved at the top of the balustrades, the first representation of the sacrificial vessels on the imperial monument. Since the vessels are ornamented with the eagle feathered and jaguar sports respectively, they refer to the warrior orders of the eagle and jaguar. On each side of Moctezuma's Throne is a pair of seated figures with skeletal jaws , richly dressed in triangular loincloths and feather headdresses bedecked with fans and rosettes of the papers. The figures may represent the old rulers and gods prior to the Aztec reign, or the Aztec deities (the figure on the left has the goggles and moustache of the rain god Tlaloc) or other old rulers, such as the figure on the far left with the royal diadem, either a king or the fire god Xiuhtecuhtli. | ||
