Pre-Columbian, Mexico City region, Aztec, ca. 1300 to 1500 CE. An incredibly rare surviving gold disc from the Aztec culture - scholars estimate that the Spanish melted down 95% of Aztec gold, silver, and copper artwork. Made to be sewn onto clothing, with two tiny holes through the upper part of the disc, this is a relief image of a warrior stamped into a very thin gold sheet (roughly 87% gold) and colored in its lower profile areas with pale red cinnabar. The warrior is depicted running, his legs stretched outward, his arms pumping. He wears sashes that stream outward from his body, an elaborate feathered headdress, anklets, a necklace, and earrings; he holds a huge, round shield with a geometric motif on its surface. Size: 3" W (7.6 cm); 4.65" H (11.8 cm) on included custom stand.

Aztec gold came from Oaxaca and Guerrero, traded into Tenochtitlan, where Aztec artisans took it and shaped it into works of art like this example. Many of those golden objects traveled out of the Aztec capital in the form of gifts to provincial leaders. Aztec rulers used luxury items to win favor as a major part of their diplomatic strategy. The rest of these beautiful gold items stayed in Tenochtitlan, used in ceremonies and in public displays.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex Hirsch collection, Germany

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#131957

Slight bending to form; potentially small losses to upper edge. Item cannot be weighed as it is delicate and attached to the stand.