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Mosaic of a double-headed serpent
© The Trustees of the British Museum
00034381001
Aztec/Mixtec, 15th-16th century AD
From Mexico
This mosaic serpent ornament was probably worn on ceremonial occasions as a pectoral (an ornament worn on the chest).
The frame has been carved from Cedro wood and then covered with turquoise mosaic embedded in a layer of resin. The eye sockets were probably inlaid with iron pyrites and shell originally, while red and white shell has been used to add details to the nose and mouth of both serpent heads. The mosaic work covers both sides of the serpents' heads.
The serpent played a very important role in Aztec religion. The word for serpent in Nahuatl, the language spoken by the Aztecs, is coatl and is associated with several gods such as Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent), Xiuhcoatl (Fire Serpent), Mixcoatl (Cloud Serpent) or Coatlicue (She of the Serpent Skirt), the mother of the Aztec god Huitzilopochtli.
The word coatl is also part of many place names, such as Coatepec ('the hill of the serpents'). Coatepec is the birthplace of the god Huitzilopochtli, the principal Aztec god, and thus one of the most important places in Aztec mythology.
Serpents were also used as architectural elements, for example, a wall of serpents (coatepantli) was often used to mark out sacred spaces within a ceremonial area. At the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, such a wall surrounded part of the Great Temple, which was the ritual focus for the entire city.
Height: 20.5 cm
Width: 43.3 cm
Depth: 6.5 cm
Object reg. no: ET Am1894,-.634
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