Teotihuacan Ocelot
| Teotihuacan Ocelot | |
|---|---|
 Teotihuacan Ocelot on display in the British Museum | |
| Material | Calcite onyx |
| Size | Height 16 cm, Length 33.5cm |
| Created | 400-600 AD |
| Discovered | Teotihuacan, Mexico |
| Present location | British Museum, London |
| Registration | Am1926-22 |
The Teotihuacan Ocelot or Teotihuacán Ocelot is the name of an alabaster sculpture of a
Mesoamerican site of Teotihuacan, central Mexico. Discovered in the late nineteenth century, it was purchased by the British Museum in 1926.[1]
Description
This unique sculpture is an
ritual sacrifices.[2]
Provenance
The feline figure was found by a labourer at the foot of the
Museo Nacional, but as they would not buy it, it was sold to an English traveller. The sculpture was eventually bought by the British Museum in 1926, with support from the Christy Fund. Only one other similar calcite statuette of a jaguar
has been unearthed at the site, which is now in the Mexican national collection.
Bibliography
- C. McEwan, Ancient Mexico in the British Museum (London, The British Museum Press, 1994)
- C. Berlo (ed.), Art, ideology and the city of Teotihuacan: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks, 8 and 9 October 1988 (Washington, D.C., Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1992)
- K. Berrin and E. Pasztory (eds.), Teotihuacan: Art from the city of the gods (Thames and Hudson, 1993)
- E. Pasztory, Teotihuacan: an experiment in living (Norman, University of Oklahoma Press, 1997)
References
- ^ British Museum Collection
- ^ British Museum Highlights Archived 2015-10-18 at the Wayback Machine