The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Seated Male Carrying Maize

Seated Male Carrying Maize

1325–1521
Overall: 31.1 x 24.1 x 30.5 cm (12 1/4 x 9 1/2 x 12 in.)

Did You Know?

Macuilxochitl is one of five gods of excess pleasure, and the punishment that follows.

Description

This figure probably represents an Aztec deity-either Macuilxochitl or Xochipilli-whose domain was beauty, the arts, and such pleasures as gameplaying, dancing, and sex. Both names include the Aztec word for "flower," and in one hand the figure holds a cone of flowers, perhaps the blossoming crown of a cactus. For the Aztecs, flowers signified beauty, refinement, and fertility in general and sexuality in particular. The burden of maize cobs on his back also may allude to his creative energies.
  • ?-1949
    Raymond Henry Norweb [1894-1983] and Emery May Holden Norweb [1895-1984], Cleveland OH, gift to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1949-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 361 archive.org
    William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, and Ralph T. Coe. The Imagination of Primitive Man: A Survey of the Arts of the Non-Literate Peoples of the World. Kansas City, Mo: The Museum, 1962. cat. no. 247, p. 152
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 292 archive.org
    National Gallery of Canada, and Expo (International Exhibitions Bureau). Terre Des Hommes: Exposition Internationale Des Beaux-Arts, 28 Avril-27 Octobre 1967 = Man and His World, International Fine Arts Exhibition, Expo 67, Montreal, Canada, 28 April-27 October 1967. [Montréal]: [Expo 67], 1967. cat. no. 77, pp. 162
    Grieder, Terence. Austin: University of Texas, vol. 67 (Fall 1968).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 292 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 395 archive.org
    Pasztory, Esther. Aztec Art. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1983. pl. 204, p. 229
    Alcina Franch, José, Miguel León Portilla, and Eduardo Matos Moctezuma. Azteca Mexica. Barcelona: Lunwerg Editores, 1992. color plate 32, p. 157
    Sabau García, María Luisa. México en el mundo de las colecciones de arte. México: D.R. Primera, 1994. Vol 1: pt. 2., pp. 179-243
    Fields, Virginia M., and Victor Zamudio-Taylor. The Road to Aztlan: Art from a Mythic Homeland. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2001. cat. no. 161, fig. 71, p. 103; p. 413
    Matos Moctezuma, Eduardo, and Felipe R. Solís Olguín. Aztecs. London: Royal Academy of Arts, 2002. cat.no. 107, p.185
    Avehanosa, Teresa, Arqueología mexicana. (March 2003).
    Solís Olguín, Felipe R. The Aztec Empire. New York, N.Y.: Guggenheim Museum Publications, 2004. Cat. No. 254, p. 255
    Katzew, Ilona, William B. Taylor, and Luisa Elena Alcalá. Contested Visions in the Spanish Colonial World. 2011.
  • The Aztec Empire. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY (organizer) (October 14, 2004-February 15, 2005).
    The Aztecs. Royal Academy of Arts, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (November 16, 2002-April 11, 2003).
    The Road to Aztlan: Art from a Mythic Homeland. Los Angeles County Museum of Art (organizer) (May 13-August 26, 2001); Austin Museum of Art (Texas Fine Arts Association) (October 19-December 30, 2001); The Albuquerque Museum (February 10-April 28, 2002).
    Azteca-Mexica, Madrid, Spain (1992).
    Man and His World, International Fine Arts Exhibition, Montreal, Canada (April 28- October 27, 1967).
    Man and His World. Expo 67, Montreal, Canada (organizer) (April 27-October 28, 1967).
    The Imagination of Primitive Man. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO (organizer) (January 18-February 25, 1962).
    The Imagination of Primitive Man, Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art (January 18- February 25, 1962).
    Exhibition of the Month: Herbs in Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 8-August 1, 1953).
  • {{cite web|title=Seated Male Carrying Maize|url=false|author=|year=1325–1521|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1949.555