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Star objects from Mexico: turquoise mosaic mask c 1500 -1521 |
Moctezuma’s days brought back to life
MOCTEZUMA: AZTEC RULER
British Museum
PERHAPS some critics have taken the Moctezuma:Aztec Ruler, exhibition too much to heart.
The bloodthirsty Aztecs had a liking for ripping out that particular organ when they made their gruesome human sacrifices.
And now artefacts in the British Museum exhibition – including a statue of an eagle with a cavity in its back, used to hold victims’ hearts – have been branded “repulsive.”
But, despite the Aztecs’ gross and inhumane practices, theirs was a fascinating culture.
And in its exhibition about the last elected Aztec emperor, the museum has drawn together a collection offering a priceless glimpse of Moctezuma II and his people.
The exhibition traces the life of a man seen on the one hand as a powerful, successful, warrier and on the other as a tragic figure who gave up his empire to the Spanish before his violent death.
This biography of Moctezuma (who reigned from 1502 to 1520) is the framework for the presentation of a host of items which are variously interesting, beautiful and chilling.
There are masterpieces made by artisans in the Aztec court, including a mask delicately inlaid with pieces of turquoise, and a turquoise two-headed serpent; impressive carved stone sculptures; carved drums, jewellery and paintings portraying the Spanish conquest.
The artefacts have a lot to say, even if some of it is repugnant.
And why should we be shielded from objects that deepen our knowledge and understanding of a brutal piece of history?
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