The Double-headed serpent is an Aztec sculpture kept at the British Museum
The Double-headed serpent is an Aztec sculpture kept at the British Museum. Composed of mostly turquoise pieces applied to a wood baser his is only a couple of colors that the double headed serpent.It is one of nine mosaics of similar material in the British Museum; there are thought to be about 25 such pieces from that period in the whole of Europe.
It came from Aztec Mexico and might have been worn or displayed in religious ceremonies.It is possible that this sculpture may be one of the gifts given by the Aztec emperor, Moctezuma II, to Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés when he invaded in 1519.The mosaic is made of pieces of turquoise, crab shell and conch shell.The body of the sculpture has been carved from wood. The back of this model is very plain, and only the heads have decorations on both sides. The body has been hollowed out to make the sculpture lighter. The main body of the snake at the front is covered in turquoise. The stone has been broken into similar sized pieces and then stuck to the wooden body with pine resin. By using 2,000[4] small pieces, the flat pieces of stone give the impression of a smooth curved mosaic surface. It has to be remembered that this sculpture was created without the use of iron tools. The turquoise had to be cut and ground using harder stones.Some of the turqoise had been brought 1,600 km to become part of this serpent.The heads of the snake have holes for eyes, but there is evidence that beeswax may have been used to hold something that appeared to be an eye. It has been speculated that the material that once made the serpent's eyes was a piece of iron pyrite (Fool's Gold). The vivid contrast of the red and white details on the head have been made from crab shell and snail shell respectively.Cleverly, the adhesive used to attach the Spondylus shell has been coloured with red iron oxide to complete the design.
It came from Aztec Mexico and might have been worn or displayed in religious ceremonies.It is possible that this sculpture may be one of the gifts given by the Aztec emperor, Moctezuma II, to Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés when he invaded in 1519.The mosaic is made of pieces of turquoise, crab shell and conch shell.The body of the sculpture has been carved from wood. The back of this model is very plain, and only the heads have decorations on both sides. The body has been hollowed out to make the sculpture lighter. The main body of the snake at the front is covered in turquoise. The stone has been broken into similar sized pieces and then stuck to the wooden body with pine resin. By using 2,000[4] small pieces, the flat pieces of stone give the impression of a smooth curved mosaic surface. It has to be remembered that this sculpture was created without the use of iron tools. The turquoise had to be cut and ground using harder stones.Some of the turqoise had been brought 1,600 km to become part of this serpent.The heads of the snake have holes for eyes, but there is evidence that beeswax may have been used to hold something that appeared to be an eye. It has been speculated that the material that once made the serpent's eyes was a piece of iron pyrite (Fool's Gold). The vivid contrast of the red and white details on the head have been made from crab shell and snail shell respectively.Cleverly, the adhesive used to attach the Spondylus shell has been coloured with red iron oxide to complete the design.
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