Rare Vintage Plaster Sculpture SunDial Scale Version Aztec Warrior Stone Tizoc

Description

HARD TO FIND PLASTER SCALED COPY OF AZTEC STONE OF TIZOC
The featured item represents a scale version of the Stone Of Tizoc that measures approximately 4 3/8" tall and 10 1/8" in
diameter. It's quite heavy piece, it weights about 15 pounds.
The original stone was rediscovered on 17 December 1791 when construction was being done in downtown Mexico City. The
monolith is made of basalt and measures 0.88 meters deep by 2.67 meters wide. It is thought to have been a Cuauhxicalli, in
which the hearts of victims of sacrifice were placed. Richard Townsend maintains, however, that the stone was hollowed in
the 16th century for unknown purposes.
The featured smaller replica of the stone appears to have been made from plaster or similar material. It has a circular shape and the bottom is hollow. On the top side  there is an elaborately carved sun dial with eight triangular rays, representing the four cardinal and inter-cardinal directions. Running around the upper edge of the outer surface of the stone is a band of stars representing the heavens whilst running around the lower edge is a double row of pointed vertical blades which represent the earth. The main frieze which runs around the outer edge of the stone is carved in relief and depicts 14 Aztec warriors taking captive the gods of other conquered civilizations. The warriors, all facing to the right and, therefore, moving counter-clockwise around the stone, are grasping the gods by their hair which was a standard way to represent capture and submission in Aztec art. Also depicted, wearing the full ceremonial regalia of the gods Huitzilopochtli and Tezcatlipoca which includes a large headdress, is Tizoc himself.
I am not aware of the age and the place of acquisition of the piece. I was not able to find anything similar for sale or being sold online beside one example claimed to be ceramic. It is possible such replicas were made for the tourists but if so, it's strange why these pieces don't surface for sale. There are also known to be older copies of the stone like the one in Haslemere Educational Museum, Surrey, gifted in 1919 by a Lady Erskine. In the Enlightenment Gallery of the British Museum there is a smaller (8”-9” diameter) wax model of the Tizoc Stone that could well have been made for William Bullock, a 19th. century traveller, naturalist and antiquarian. In 1823 Bullock went to Mexico and brought back a large collection of artifacts and specimens that included casts of several important Aztec treasures, which formed a new exhibition in the ‘Egyptian Hall’, Piccadilly, entitled ‘Ancient and Modern Mexico’.
The item comes in overall good condition. There are small scuffs, marks, chips and scratches throughout out. There is a crack where the grooved channel on the top runs down the side and the bottom rim. It appears that it was repaired with glue or other adhesive. Looks like a well done job so probably it won't give up on you. There is a also a hairline crack running below the upper side band, almost all around, but it appear to be pretty stable.
SOLD "AS IS"