The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 24, 2024
Feathered Serpent (Quetzalcoatl)
1325–1521
Overall: 27.7 x 20.1 x 22 cm (10 7/8 x 7 15/16 x 8 11/16 in.)
Location: not on view
Description
The museum bought this sculpture in 1941, when study of ancient American arts was in its infancy. It has many odd features, a few perhaps revealing an attempt to make the subject—the Aztec deity Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent)—palatable to modern viewers. But it cannot absolutely be declared fake because some real Aztec sculptures are unusual. Analysis of the surface so far provides no help. Especially odd is the arrangement of the coils into bulges that suggest the pectorals, knees, and buttocks of a human body, as though the sculpture represents a human in a serpent costume. Real Aztec sculpture usually portrays the serpent's dangerous body more realistically. Also, the mouth mask—the insignia of a wind deity related to Quetzalcoatl and, thus, perhaps appropriate—is much larger in genuine sculptures. This suggests that, because the mask and its authentic proportion are strange to our eyes, a forger scaled it down. Other uncommon features include the incomplete carving of the ears, the fact that the human head does not emerge from a serpent's mouth, and more.- Flint Institute of Arts. Art Marches on!: The Opening and Dedicating Exhibition of the New Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, Michigan, November 14-December 13, 1941. Flint, Mich: The Institute. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 27, no. 46The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 363 archive.org
- Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; March 19 - April 11,1943. "Art of the Americas."Flint, MI: Flint Institute of the Arts; November 14-Decmber 31, 1941. "Art Marches On," exh. cat. no. 46, p. 27, repr. black and white p. 27.Palm Beach, FL: The Society of the Four Arts; January 10 - February 1,1953. "Pre-Columbian Art: The Native Art of America Before the Conquest." Cat. no. 49, no repr.The Arts of Pre- Hispanic America. The Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA (organizer) (April 12-May 31, 1970).Norfolk, VA: Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences; April 12 - May 31, 1970. "The Arts of Pre Hispanic America."Art of the Americas. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 9, 1945-January 6, 1946).Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art; November 9 1945-January 6 1946. "Art of the Americas." repr. in catalogue, black and white, p. 21.Toledo, OH: Toledo Museum of Art; January 1944. "The Ancient Art of the North American Continent."
- {{cite web|title=Feathered Serpent (Quetzalcoatl)|url=false|author=|year=1325–1521|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1941.46