The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Organically shaped greenstone with the features of the Aztec rain god Tlaloc, round, spiral-patterned nose, and rectangular fangs protruding from his downturned mouth with four hair-like tendrils curving out from his lower lip. He wears neck and head ornaments with two hands sticking in from the sides of the lower half of the rock, making fist shapes with the left hand holding a stalk fanning out into five stalks.

Tlaloc

c. 1200–1519

Central Mexico, Aztec, 13th-16th century

stone
Overall: 29 x 19.5 x 13.5 cm (11 7/16 x 7 11/16 x 5 5/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1966.361
Location: Not on view

Description

A natural cobble of greenstone has been smoothed and carved in low relief to portray the Aztec rain god Tlaloc, recognizable by his ringed eyes, twisted nose element, and fanged mouth. As the provider of water, Tlaloc is a patron of agriculture and holds a stalk of maize in one hand. To the Aztecs, Tlaloc was an ancient and civilized god; his worship could be traced back to the ancient ruined site Teotihuacan.
  • “Year in Review.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 54, no. 10 (December 1967): 302–346. Reproduced: p. 339; Mentioned: p. 342, no. 45 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 292 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 395 archive.org
  • New Orleans, LA: The Isaac Delgado Museum of Art; May 10- June 16, 1968. "Treasures of Latin American Art."
    Year in Review: 1967. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 29-December 31, 1967).
  • {{cite web|title=Tlaloc|url=false|author=|year=c. 1200–1519|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1966.361