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| AZTECS | |
AZTECS
26 September 2003 to 11 January 2004
| This exhibition
was organised by the Royal Academy of Arts, London. It has also been organised in cooperation with the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Ethnological Museum, the Berlin Festspiele and the Martin-Gropius-Bau Berlin. The exhibition was made possible by the generous support of the Mexican Government. We would like to thank the Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes and the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. |
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Pektoral mit einem Bild von Xiuhtecuhtli, mixtekisch, um 1500 Museo Nacional de Antropología, Mexico-City, CONACULTA - INAH Foto: Michel Zabé |
The exhibits include monumental sculptures - some made of clay - portraying people, animals and gods; included are also turquoise mosaics, gold jewellery, painted ceramics and illustrated manuscripts. AZTECS is a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience the grandeur and sophistication of this great civilisation. The exhibition has been enhanced by a spectacular computer animation of the Great Temple of the Aztecs in Mexico City, especially developed for the Bonn exhibition by the Technical University Darmstadt - CAD Division of the Department of Architecture. |
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| From Nomads to Settlers According to ancient records, the Aztecs came from a mythical island called Aztlan, ‘the place of the white heron’. Their greatest god Huitzilopochtli, “Hummingbird of the South”, lead them in their migration to their traditional home in 1325, to Tenochtitlan (present day Mexico City). This sitefulfilled the prophecy that the Aztecs would settle on an island where they would find an “eagle poised on a cactus”. This image is to be found in many of the illustrated books of that time, and today has become immortalized as an emblem on the Mexican national flag. |
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| Aztec Gods The Aztecs had many gods, often represented by their animal attributes. The underworld was ruled by Mictlantecuhtli, the Lord of Death. The world above was ruled by Ometeotl, who was both male and female. Religion permeated private and public life, creating a cosmic order that even the gods had to obey. This order not only shaped Aztec life but also that of their neighbors. The divine order was sustained by making sacrifices, even human ones. As a sign of gratitude and nourishment, human blood and hearts were offered to the gods. The importance of this major ceremony, guaranteeing the continuation of the Aztec world, is mirrored in many of the objects on exhibit. |
| Society At the top of the Aztec hierarchically structured society stood its kings and priests. Precious status symbols document the wealth and magnificence of court life and the status of the “eagle warriors”. Artisans and merchants also enjoyed privileges, the latter of which brought luxury articles - valuable feathers, textiles, jewels - to the capital from all of the areas within the Aztec sphere of influence. Warriors who died in battle and sacrificed prisoners, as well as women who died during childbirth, after death enjoyed the privilege of accompanying the sun on its daily travels. The majority of the population were farmers and agricultural laborers. |
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Adlermann,
aztekisch, um 1440 - 1469 Museo del Templo Mayor, CONACULTA - INAH Foto: Michel Zabé |
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The Centre of the Aztec World The Great Temple, or Templo Mayor, was the spiritual and worldly centre of the Aztec empire. The temple, the original structure dating back to 1325, towered over the city of Tenochtitlan and its population of 250.000. Two shrines topped the gigantic double pyramid - the one dedicated to their greatest god Huitzilopochtli and the other to the rain god Tlaloc. Both shrines were approached by means of a central major stairway. |
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Museo del Templo Mayor, CONACULTA - INAH Foto: Michel Zabé |
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| Painted Books The Aztecs produced many elaborately illustrated and painted books, so-called ‘codices’. These texts were not written in letters but in pictograms - specially trained scribes were commissioned to work on them. Using natural colours they painted on prepared animal skins or paper, made from the rind of fig trees or from cotton. |
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| Maske,
Teotihuacan, um 300 - 600 Museo del Templo Mayor, CONACULTA - INAH Foto: Michel Zabé |
| The Conquistadors In 1521 Spanish conquistadors brutally conquered the Aztec empire in a short time. At first impressed by this bright metropolis, they soon were deeply shocked by its religious practices, in particular by its human sacrifices. With missionary zeal the conquistadors wiped out one of the most important cultures of human history, burning its libraries of ritual manuscripts and destroying the entire temple area. |
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