The ''Double-headed serpent'' is an

Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...

sculpture. It is a

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

with two heads composed of mostly turquoise pieces applied to a wooden base. It might have been worn or displayed in religious ceremonies. The mosaic is made of pieces of turquoise, spiny oyster shell and conch shell.Double-Headed Serpent

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

, accessed September 2010 The sculpture is at the

Description

The sculpture is of an undulating serpent with heads on each side. A single block of cedar wood ('' Cedrela odorata'') forms the sculpture's base. The back side has been hollowed out, possibly to make the sculpture lighter. The back, once gilded, is now plain, and only the heads have decorations on both sides. The outer body of the two-headed snake is covered in a mosaic of turquoise, accented by red spiny oyster. Turquoise stones were broken in small, flat tesserae and adhered to the wooden body with pine resin. By using 2,000 small pieces, the flat pieces of stone give the impression of a faceted, curvilinear surface. The turquoise was cut and ground using stone tools. Some of the turquoise was imported to Mesoamerica from approximately 1,600 km to the northwest, from the Four Corners Region of Oasisamerica where the Ancestral Pueblo people mined the stone. The heads of the serpents have holes for eyes, and remaining traces of beeswax and

resin A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...

may have once held objects representing eyes, possibly orbs of iron pyrite (Fool's Gold). The vivid contrast of the red and white details on the head have been made from oyster shell and conch shell respectively.Turquoise mosaics from Mexico
Colin McEwan, p.32-3, 2003, British Museum, accessed 29 August 2010 The adhesive used to attach the '' Spondylus princeps'' shell has been colored with red iron oxide ( hematite) to complete the design. The white shell used for the teeth comes from shells of the edible queen conch.

Provenance

It is not known how this sculpture left Mexico, but it is considered possible that it was among the goods obtained by

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...

when he took the interior of Mexico for the Spanish crown. Cortés arrived on the coast of what is now Mexico in 1519, and after battles he entered the capital on November 8, 1519 and was met with respect, if not favour, by the Aztec ruler Moctezuma II (Montezuma). Some sources report that Moctezuma thought that Cortés was the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl and treated him accordingly. However, scholars such as Matthew Restall claim this idea was a Spanish invention used as propaganda. Either way, Cortés was given a number of valuable gifts, which included turquoise sculptures, and possibly this serpent. Despite the gifts and the peaceful reception, Moctezuma was taken prisoner by Cortés and his troops took Moctezuma's capital, Tenochtitlan, by 1521. They then fell victim to

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

and other old world diseases brought to Mexico by Cortés and his troops. The Cortés antiquities arrived in Europe in the 1520s and caused great interest; however, it is said that other turquoise mosaics ended their days in jewellers' shops in Florence where they were dismantled to make more contemporary objects. Neil Macgregor credits Henry Christy with gathering similar artifacts into the British Museum.Turquoise mosaics from Mexico
Colin McEwan, Introduction by Neil MacGregor, p.3, 2003, British Museum, accessed 28 August 2010 The sculpture is at the British Museum, purchased from whereabouts unknown by the Christy Fund.

Significance

This sculpture is one of nine Mexican turquoise mosaics in the British Museum. There are considered to be only 25 Mexican turquoise mosaics in Europe from this period.Mexican turquoise mosaics
British Museum, accessed 28 August 2010 Many theories suggest the symbolic significance of the serpent imagery. It has been proposed that the serpent was a symbol of rebirth because of its ability to shed its old skin and appear as a reborn snake. It may have been a representation of the earth and underworld with each head representing one. The snake features strongly in the gods that the people worshiped. The feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl, patron of priests and symbol of death and resurrection was important to

Mixtec The Mixtecs (), or Mixtecos, are Indigenous Mesoamerican peoples of Mexico inhabiting the region known as La Mixteca of Oaxaca and Puebla as well as La Montaña Region and Costa Chica of Guerrero, Costa Chica Regions of the state of Guerre ...

religion,Double headed serpent
''A History of the World in 100 Objects'', BBC. accessed 27 August 2010 but other gods also had serpentine characteristics. Both the colour green and serpents signified fertility, and ensuring land fertility was at the heart of most Aztec ceremonies. Turquoise evoked new growth, water and the feathers of the Quetzal bird, which were worn by priests during ceremonies. The bright turquoise skin and open jaws were intended to both impress and terrify the beholder. However, the best known craftsmen for their turquoise mosaics were not the Aztecs but the Mixtecs. At the height of the Aztec Empire, many Mixtec towns came under Aztec rule had to pay tribute to the emperor, including gifts of gold and turquoise. This serpent would have made a valuable item of tribute- an example of the fearsome Aztecs.

History of the World

This sculpture featured in '' A History of the World in 100 Objects'', a series of radio programs that started in 2010 as a collaboration between the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and the British Museum. It was also featured in Historium, a collection of ancient objects from all over the world.

References

External links