General Aztecs Maya Tocuaro Kids Contact 19 Mar 2024/2 Death
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Huehueteotl

Aztec stone figure of Huehueteotl, the Old God of Fire

Stone figure of the Aztec Old God of Fire, Huehueteotl, 48 cms high, c. 1500, National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City.

The signs of old age - the wrinkles on the face and the missing teeth - contrast with the vigorous movement of the body. The position of the hands, and the holes in them, indicate that the god is shown as a standard-bearer: he will have held a sceptre and a bag of copal resin or flowers. He is dressed in a simple loincloth tied at the front.

Adapted from the RA exhibition catalogue ‘Aztecs’, p. 410.

Photo by Ana Laura Landa/Mexicolore

Learn more of Huehueteotl as a household god of the Aztecs