OBJECTS FROM CEMPOALAN AND XICO 



267 



modern appearance, there is no doubt of its antiquity. It is a 

 colossal stone head and has limlw carved on the back. Feathers 

 are represented on top of the head. Just below a characteristic 

 breast ornament one may see a shallow depression corresponding in 

 place to that receptacle for offerings which is found in Cliac !Mol 

 and some other idols. This huge head, which is 3 feet high and 

 very heavy, has been for 

 many years in the possession 

 of the famil}' now owning it. 

 In the same collection is also 

 another image of colossal size, 

 which is made of a soft brown 

 stone. This idol is rudely 

 sculptured without legs, the 

 arms being brought to the 

 breast. The .symbolism is 

 insufficient to determine 

 what supernatural or other 

 being was intended to be rep 

 resented bj' this massive fig- 

 ure. In the Dehesa collec- 

 tion there is a stone idol 

 (figure 63), possibly repre- 

 senting a maize goddess, hav- 

 ing a crown of radiating 

 feathers and a visor-like 

 projection above the face. 

 She wears the ceremonial gar- 

 ment tied by a cord and cai- 

 ries in her extended right 

 hand two ears of maize or 

 Indian corn; the left arm is 

 broken." 



Another idol (figure 64) in 

 the Dehesa collection is not as 

 well made as the preceding 

 and is more massive in form. 

 Arms and legs are not repre 



.sented and the bod}' below the waist is enlarged into a pedestal on 

 which the figure stands. The characteristic feature of this idol is the 

 elaborate headdress, which has the form of the cloud tablets that 

 characterize the Goddess of Rain. Figure 64 possibly represents the 



"The two stone images, representing a youth with a ball in each hand and a woman with similar 

 objects, which were formerly owned in Xico by Sra Maria de la Luz Gomez, are not regarded as 

 genuine antiquities, although they are said to have been found at Texolo and are not unlike the ball- 

 player idol in the Museo Nacional. Their form, however, shows Spanish influence. 



