Mixtec Gold Figural Pendant

William P. Palmer III, Falmouth Foreside, Maine

Alexander Acevedo, New York

Sotheby's, New York, November 27, 1984, lot 161, consigned by the above

Acquired by the present owner after the above auction

Photographed by Justin Kerr in 1969, (K0130d), Hollis Images, Harvard University

The figural pendant is a tour de force of the metallurgical techniques mastered by Mixtec craftsmen in lost-wax casting and false-filigree. The deity figure is "Lord 7 Flower", known as Xochipilli or Flower Prince by the Aztec; he is the patron god of song, dance and feasting. The pendant is cast as one piece, with the prominent bird mask showing a delicately open beak. The slender nose bar nested above is a known insignia of importance. Adorned with necklaces on the chest, the towering headdress features looped feathers, scrollwork and an arching crown of nine plumes; two suspension loops are on the reverse. 

Cf. For the pendant of this deity from Tomb 7, Monte Alban, see Joanne Pillsbury, Timothy Potts, and Kim N. Richter, eds., Golden Kingdoms, Luxury Arts in the Ancient Americas, Los Angeles, 2017, Fig. 196, p. 250 for Lord 7 Flower.