Title

Sacrificial knife, Aztec/Mixtec, Mexico, 15th-16th century. Artist: Unknown

Caption

Sacrificial knife, Aztec/Mixtec, Mexico, 15th-16th century. The handle is carved in wood and covered with mosaic of turquoise, shell and malachite. The blade is made of chalcedony. The figure is an eagle warrior, a member of a prestigious order of Aztec warriors. According to myth, the principal god Huitzilopochtli asked the Aztecs to found their city at the place where they saw an eagle perched upon a cactus. This became Tenochtitlan. From the British Museum.

Date

1400

Credit line

Photo12/Heritage Images/CM Dixon

Reference

HRM19B76_349

Model release

No

License type

Rights managed

Available size

50,1Mb (1,4Mb) / 20,2in x 9,6in / 6056 x 2891 (300dpi)

Keywords

people male man men country figure guy museum Mexico color colour knives Mexican war warrior mosaic location aztec British Museum century HANDLE blade artefact concept knife sacrifice artifact 16th century chalcedony Mixtec sixteenth century 15th century CM Dixon eagle warrior fifteenth century sacrificial object Unknown Dixon CM CM Dixon Mike Dixon CM Dixon object