Gift of Dr. Ernest Franco

Chapultepec, or “Grasshopper Hill,” was the first Mexica settlement in the Valley of Mexico, and this carved aquamarine grasshopper pendant may have a symbolic association with the site. Located on the western shore of Lake Texcoco, Chapultepec Hill was a source of fresh water for the capital city of Tenochtitlán. It was also a sacred mountain shrine for Mexica rulers, who had their portraits carved in the rock cliffs. For the Mexica, grasshoppers signified the end of the rainy season, when crops started to grow.


Chapultepec, o “Cerro Saltamontes,” fue el primer asentamiento Mexica en el Valle de México, y este pendiente en forma de saltamontes de aguamarina tallada puede tener una asociación simbólica con el lugar. Ubicado en la costa oeste del Lago Texcoco, el cerro de Chapultepec era una fuente de agua fresca para la ciudad capital de Tenochtitlán. Era también un santuario de montaña sagrado para los gobernantes Mexica, quienes hacían tallar sus retratos en los acantilados de piedra. Para los Mexica, los saltamontes significaban el fin de la temporada lluviosa, cuando los cultivos comenzaban a crecer.

Museum Expedition 1930, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund and the Museum Collection Fund

Museum Expedition 1930, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund and the Museum Collection Fund

Museum Expedition 1930, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund and the Museum Collection Fund

Museum Expedition 1933, Purchased with funds given by Jesse Metcalf

Museum Expedition 1930, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund and the Museum Collection Fund

Museum Expedition 1930, Robert B. Woodward Memorial Fund and the Museum Collection Fund

Long, full-body mask of bark cloth with natural color fiber fringe at bottom. Object is narrow at top and wide at bottom held stiff by a wooden hoop. Upper portion painted black with a white face on one side and a tuft of fringe at the top. Center section is cream-colored with yellow and orange snakes separated into four parts by black and orange lines. Upper part of center section has side slits through which tubular brown arm sleeves protrude, their shape maintained by small wooden hoops at the top and bottom. A fiber fringe hangs from the sleeves. Condition is good.

Charles Stewart Smith Memorial Fund