Aztec Ritual Stone Drum ca. A.D. 1450-1521

the ceremonial stone drum (teponaztli) carved with stylized face of Xochipilli, the deity of flowers, music and song, with distinctive features of a flowering plant forming the nose and brows and open palms covering the eyes, the mouth of butterfly shape, flanked by teardrop ear ornaments, perhaps shells, and two floral medallions at the side, the sunken top centering a rabbit head, and the pecked perimeter indicating a stretched jaguar skin; in dense black basalt. 

Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York

Overall very good, has a spawled area on one side , approx. 3 in wide, where one of the leaf shaped designs would have been. Otherwise fine.
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While the shape resembles the cuauhxicalli or sacrificial stone vessels, this finely carved object represents the top of a huehuetl or upright drum, and would be placed on a small tripod base (J. Pohl and personal communication). For a closely related example of a horizontal drum with the Xochipilli face pecked spots indicating jaguar skin, see Moctezuma and Olguin (2002: cat. no. 126).

Xochipilli, or 'flower prince', is one of the key deities of the Aztecs, representing regeneration and the flowers, music and life forces accompanying rebirth. His emblems include the butterflies eating the nectar of the open flowers, jaguar skin signifying his important status, and a mask. Music would be played on drums during the ceremonial ritual for this deity.