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MILLON

343 - Seated Xipe Tótec Terracotta with traces of polychromy.
See original version (French)

Estimate €400 - €600
Sale commission
Description
Seated Xipe Tótec Terracotta with traces of polychromy. Repaired, with chips on the nose; restoration covering no more than 20 per cent of the overall surface area of the work, partly on the reverse. Mixtec–Aztec, Mexico. H: 19.5 cm; W: 17.5 cm Provenance: Auction, Paris, Drouot, Ader-Picard-Tajan auction house, 23–24–25 June 1975, lot 76. This depiction refers to Xipe Tótec, an important deity of Post-Classical Mexico associated with the regeneration of the plant cycle, the renewal of the earth and ritual sacrifice. His name can be translated as ‘Our Lord the Flayed One’, in reference to the ceremonies during which priests would don the skin of the sacrificed victims in order to symbolically embody the rebirth of nature after the dry season. The bulges visible around the arms and hands specifically evoke this ritual skin worn as a sacred attribute. The cult of Xipe Tótec played a major role in Mixtec and Aztec traditions, particularly during the Tlacaxipehualiztli festivals celebrated in spring. These ceremonies combined sacrificial combat, offerings and fertility rites intended to ensure agricultural prosperity and the renewal of vital forces. The large ear ornaments, the crouched posture and the intense facial expression are in keeping with the stylistic conventions of the Mixteca-Puebla school of the late Postclassic period. The sculpture as a whole retains a strong sculptural presence, accentuated by the figure’s compact frontal pose and the expressive tension of the modelling.
See original version (French)
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About the sale Journey Across the Continents (sale without live performance)
Auction location
Auction time 09/10/2026 at 1:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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