subject: Pre Columbian Aztec Artwork Used In Mexican Style Decor [print this page] The creation of the pre Columbian world is normally depicted in Aztec artwork. It chronicles how gods have created the world five times. The Aztecs refered to each of these worlds as "suns".
In the beginning from total void and darkness Ometecutli ("Lord of Duality") created himself. The Lord of Duality was a union of opposites: good and bad, chaos and order, male and female. Being both both genders ("Lord and Lady of Duality"), Ometecutli was capable of conceiving children. The Lord and Lady of Duality produced four children; Huizilopochtli, Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca and Xipe Totec. Each child became a god in this world and was assigned one of the four cardinal directions (north, south, east and west).
Four ages, or "suns" of 2028 years ensued. Each of these "suns" was terminated with cataclysms due to the infighting among the child gods as they competed for power. All humans in each of the previous four suns were destroyed or transformed.
In the darkness after the destruction of the fourth sun, Quetzalcoatl (known as the plumed serpent) descended into the underworld to bring up the bones of the dead. They would be used to bring to life the people who would live in the pre Columbian "fifth sun". In this fifth current sun Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca, gods ancient and powerful together recreated heaven, earth, and all inhabitants.
The pre Columbian Aztecs, also known as Mexica believed that the god Huitzilopochtli himself frequently intervened in their behalf bestowing his blessings upon them and allowed them to conquer and rule. Through his direction the mighty Aztec empire grew. And, the mighty aztec capital of Tenochtitlan was established as the center of th world.
But the world was an uncertain and unstable place, the sun could not move across the sky by himself. As a matter of fact, when it first came into the sky, it couldn't move at all. The gods themselves had to practise blood sacrifices to give energy to the sun and allow it to continue its daily journey. And now, humans had to repay the debt, and keep the sun moving, with their own blood sacrifices. Thus the sun required both the blood of gods and humans to continue its journey. And, it was Huitzilopochtli, the great warrior god in particular who fought for the sun. Warriors, gods and human alike, fought to offer up sustenance to allow the sun to rize every day and keep moving across the sky.
These scenes are depicted in Aztec artwork such as the Aztec sun stone (more commonly known as the Aztec calendar), engraved in stone on temples, in pottery and other items today used as Mexican style decor.
Aztec artwork in use today as Mexican style decor includes ceremonial items used by Aztec shamans to invoke the Aztec gods. Each ceremony began with the burning of the sacred copal, a tree resin believed to be the "blood" of trees, in ceramics that had been purified.
Our collection of pre Columbian pottery, Aztec ceremonial items and Aztec artwork offers a glimpse of this ancient world. All items are imported from Mexico and are hand crafted by descendants of the ancient Aztec empire. Each piece is unique because it is hand crafted and ideally suited for display at an office setting or home, adding a touch of Mexican style decor to any location.
