VERACRUZ POTTERY HEAD (Xipe-Tlazolteotl), CLASSIC PERIOD, CA. 300–700 CE

Height: 4 in. (10.1 cm); Width: 5 in. (12.7 cm) – mounted on custom black museum stand

Powerfully modeled and richly expressive, this terracotta head portrays a figure whose features are defined by the taut folds of a flayed human skin worn as a mask — an image deeply rooted in the Xipe-Totec cult of renewal and rebirth. The parted lips, prominent nose, and heavy-lidded eyes convey the lifeless calm of the sacrificed visage, while traces of red pigment emphasize its ritual intensity.

The figure’s circular ear ornaments and close-fitting coiffure frame the face, evoking the ceremonial iconography of Xipe-Tlazolteotl, the composite deity embodying both the purifying destruction of Xipe Totec and the regenerative fertility of Tlazolteotl. Such heads, once part of full-bodied effigies or shrine assemblages, symbolized the cycle of death, transformation, and renewal at the heart of Classic Veracruz cosmology.

Comparable examples are preserved in the Dallas Museum of Art (Object Number:1952.43.6) See last image in our pictures for the similar example.

Ex. Abell Auction, Los Angeles, California
Ex. Private Estate, Beverly Hills, California.
Acquired during the 1950s and remaining in the collection for over seventy years, by descent within the family.