*Tambour cérémoniel Lot n° 47

It has two resonance drums designed to modulate the sounds of the ceremony. It is richly decorated with ideograms and motifs evoking the god of death, the sun, a sacrificial knife, and the attributes of the god Yuizilopochtli. This drum was probably used in the sacrificial rites associated with the flowery wars. Yuizilopochtli, the Aztec god of war and the sun personified by the hummingbird, is one of the most important deities of the Aztecs. For them the warriors were reincarnated in the form of a bird fly, and the south represented the left side of the world. That is why his name meant "the resurrected warrior of the south". This work of great rarity is a cultural testimony of great importance personifying the vision of this people, their warlike customs and the belief in a new life after death. Polychrome terracotta Aztec, Mexico, 1300 - 1521 AD 36 x 34.6 cm Lot presented in Temporary Importation Provenance : - Former Yvon Collet collection since 1969 - Mermoz Gallery, 2004 Among the Aztecs, the flowery wars were not intended to kill the enemies but to ritualize the conflict by taking them prisoner to sacrifice them at the top of the sacred pyramid. The victor presented the vanquished to the priest-sacrificer and servant of the Sun God (the vanquished warrior was often under the effect of a hallucinogen to attenuate the pain). It was then customary to rip out the heart and present it still palpitating to the sun. For the defeated warrior this was considered a great honour and a hope of eternal life with the sun god. Broken collar-glued