SMITHSONIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL COLLECTION. 85 



in the shape of a wolf s head, to all appearance likewise the handle of a vessel 

 (Fig. oOo). In this instance the specimen is solid, consisting of clay with the 

 usual admixture of shells. 



The ancient Mexicans, on the other hand, have left numberless clay figures 

 representing the human form, which are, however, generally more conspicuous 

 for elaborate details than for correctness of the proportions, the heads being 

 often unnaturally large. The significance of many of these figures is not 

 known, though it may be assumed that a large proportion of them relates to 

 the mythology of the Aztecs. Some may represent household gods, or pe- 

 nates, while others, perhaps, were nothing else but toys. Most of these 

 manufactures are hollow and pierced with a few holes for emitting the heated 

 air produced by the baking. &quot;Without this precaution the objects would have 

 burst, owing to the expansive force of the air. 



One of the most elaborate Mexican figures of the collection (Fig. 306) 

 represents a man seated, with the hands resting on the knees, and bearing on 

 his back another human figure so placed that its head surmounts that of the 

 first, while its hands press against the forehead and its feet rest on the 

 shoulders of the lower figure. The upper figure wears a rather low head 

 dress, and the lower one is profusely decorated with armlets, wrist-bands and 

 leg-ornaments. The most conspicuous attributes of this curious pair consist 

 in two serpents which, descending from the head-dress of the upper figure, 

 encompass, as it were, the group on both sides, and rest their heads between 

 the feet of the lower figure. In this specimen the clay is well burned and 

 shows externally a light-brown paint. 



A Mexican image of simpler design (Fig. 307), likewise represents a man 

 in the attitude so often exhibited in Mexican and Central American terra 

 cottas and sculptures, namely, seated and placing the hands on the knees. 

 The figure is highly ornamented and wears a head-dress of a shape reminding 

 one of a terraced pyramid. The color is a pale red. 



Two remarkable figures of the collection, nearly identical in shape, though 

 somewhat differing in size, Avere presented to the ^National Museum by the 

 family of the late George Gibbs. They are of a more uncouth appearance 

 than the two specimens before described, and represent squatting women 

 pressing their hands against the cars (Fig. 308). The faces indicate aged 

 individuals with prominent noses and somewhat protruding tongues. The 

 sexual parts are broadly marked. The peculiar head-dresses show, in both 

 instances, on the right side a projection resembling a tuft of feathers. 

 Both figures are coated with a shining black color. It would be interesting 

 to know the circumstances which gave rise to the manufacture of these two 

 almost identical images. Quite different in design is a small statuette of a 

 woman dressed in an ornamented gown reaching to the feet, and wearing a 

 high cap (Fig. 309). The hollow figure encloses a loose clay ball, giving the 

 object the character of a rattle. Rattles of clay, it is well known, belong to 

 the common relics of the ancient Mexicans. 



