sea sculpture

Seated with elbows on his bony knees, Mictlantecuhtli is a skeletal specter, revered throughout most of Mexico's pre-Hispanic cultures as one of the most powerful deities. Members of the Angel Ceron Artisan Association present their own interpretation of an image of the Aztec god of death found in Mexico's Xalapa Museum of Anthropology. The artisans shape the frightening personage by hand, fire it and give it an aged finish. Mictlantecuhtli was considered the king of the underworld realm of Mictlán, and was thus the Lord of Death.

Angel Cerón reveals the presence of Chalchiuhtlicue as he works with clay extracted from the state of Oaxaca. Officially authorized to replicate pre-Hispanic museum pieces, Cerón crafts a detailed statuette of this feminine deity, the female companion of Tlaloc, Aztec god of rain. The original is dated between 1325 and 1521 A.D. Chalchiuhtlicue is the goddess of lakes, rivers, fountains, seas and oceans, and thus the protector of sailors and is also known as "She with the Jade Skirt" symbolizing pure and crystalline running water. "Chalchiuhtlicue is usually depicted holding a staff representing lightning, and a bag of copal, where clouds are formed. She is revered as the female principle of life and patron of midwives and newborns," explains Cerón who though he has officially retired, he continues to pursue his life-long passion for pre-Hispanic art.

From pre-Hispanic times, the people of Mexico's central highlands cultivated maguey plants. The thick curved leaves, were used in houses, and they became fuel for the fires used for cooking as well as plates for the food. The tough fibers were used for weaving or twisted into ropes, and the sharp spines were used as nails and needles. So important was the maguey that the Aztecs had a goddess dedicated to it — Mayahuel — depicted in the Borgia Codex as a male. The craftspeople of the Angel Ceron Artisan Association create an image in honor of Mexico's pre-Hispanic civilizations in handcrafted ceramic. They depict a seated nobleman who lifts his eyes toward the heavens as he holds an offering of tender maguey leaves.