Head of Xilonen, the Goddess of Young Maize
Mexica (Aztec) (Tenochtitlan, Mexico)
1400–1500
- Medium
- Basalt
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Dimensions
- 32.4 × 20.3 × 12.1 cm (12 3/4 × 8 × 4 3/4 in.)
- Culture
- Tenochtitlan
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of the Americas
- Credit line
- African and Amerindian Art Purchase Fund
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Teens profiles and older: its subject is for older viewers (war, death, the Passion, drink or the like). How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
This sculptural fragment represents Xilonen, the youthful Aztec (Mexica) goddess of new maize (corn), who embodies concepts of fertility and renewal. Two large ears of maize rise from her floral headband, with long tassels flowing down her back. In July the Aztecs held a spectacular agricultural festival in Xilonen’s honor to celebrate the first fruits of the summer season. During this ritual ceremony, a young girl impersonated the goddess, dancing to bring forth an abundant harvest. The name Xilonen was Hispanicized in Mexico as elote, meaning “fresh, tender ear of corn.”
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
