Descriptive catalogue of the archaeological, historical and artistic collections of Eufemio Abadiano

DESCRIPTIVE

CATALOGUE!

OF THE

ARCHAEOLOGICAL,
HISTORICAL AND ARTISTIC

COLLECTIONS

OF

EUFEMIO ABADIANO.

NEW ORLEANS :
Franco-American Print, 102 Chartres Street.

1885. f-

w

V

DESCRIPTIVE

OF THE

ARCH^OLOGICAL,
HISTORICAL AND ARTISTIC

COLLECTIONS

OF

EUFEaiIO ABADIAXO.

NEW OK LEANS:
Franco-American Print, 102 Chartres Street,

1885,

J

REMARKS.

Desirous that the monuments of American antiquity
that are found scattered throughout the continent, many
of which are now ready to be lost sight of, may be better
known and studied by the scientific world, we have formed
the project of gathering together in one grand collection
their exact reproductions, along with everything in the
way of publications and explanations relative thereto.
The only records left us by the primitive races of this
continent are their monuments, the archaeological value
of the study of which needs not to be dwelt upon. They
reveal to us the degree of scientific and artistic culture to
which some of these peoples, apart entirely from all con-
tact with the old world, had arrived. Our present collec-
tion, brought together under innumerable difficulties and
at great cost, while it is composed of the most valuable of
American antiquities (comprising the most notable posses-
sions of the National Museum of Mexico and monuments
from various parts of that republic) is not yet as complete
as we would desire, and will be added to in the future as
opportunity may present.

If we have committed errors in this catalogue in our ef-
forts to throw a little light on these relics of ancient Amer-
ican civilization there are those who are wiser than we
that will detect them, and, we hope, will excuse them, tak-
ing into account the little that is known as yet of Amer-
ican archaeology. If the brief explanations here given,
though most insufficient for the importance of the subject,
serve to give to those unacquainted with ancient American
history a slight knowledge of the civilization that flour-
ished here in the past, and awaken a desire for further
research on a topic so entertaining, we shall be content.

EUFF.MIO ABADIANO.

New Orleans. April 5, 1885.

MEXICAN ANTIQUITIES.

No. 1.
Aztec Calendar Stone.

Diameter, 3.35 metres, cylindrical part.

Among the many deities adored by the Indians, the
principal was the sun, to whom, like ancient nations of the
old world, paid homage not only the Mexicans, but all the
more civilized peoples of both Americas. In Mexico
temples and pyramids were erected in his honor and
reverence religiously paid him by all. Before his image
sculptured on this stone in human form, at feasts in his
worship, incense was burned, sacrifices offered up and
prisoners slain, while the people, old and young, did
penance, slitting their ears and drawing blood to propitiate
themselves in his favor. (1)

The mythology of the Mexicans, the source of all light
on the study of their monuments, commences with the
creation, the origin of their gods and the human race,
one of the first legends of which is that of the four cosmo-
gonical suns. They believed the sun had died four times,
or that there had been four suns, each of which had ended
in a universal cataclysm, and that the sun which still
lighted them was the fifth — shown on the stone by the
ceDtral figure, the four rectangular figures adjoining
representing the four past suns.

According to Gama, the stone is a calendar for that part
of the year between the spring and autumnal equinox,
showing all the various movements of the sun and the
time at which should be celebrated the principal feasts of
the nation, these latter corresponding nearly always to
some celestial phenomenon. The figure made by the four
rectangles in the center is also the well known sign of
Nahui Ollin, or the four movements of the sun. The figures
in the circle just outside of this represent the twenty days
into which they divided their month, and the eight large
angles in form of A their divisions of the day. Signs of the
constellations are found by some in the outer circles. The
stone served also as a sun-dial, by which the priests knew
daily the hours for their ceremonies and sacrifices. Gno-
mons or hands, the holes for which are still visible in the

(1) Gama, p. 91.

margin, were fixed above the stone, the time and move-
ments of the sun being shown by their shadows.

The weight of this monument is calculated at twenty-
one tons, and as there is not to be found within twenty-five
or thirty- miles of the Mexican capital a like class of stone,
it is not easily imagined how the Mexicans moved a mass
so enormous to their great temple.

No. 2.
Teoyoamiqui, or Goddess of Death.

Height, 2.566 m.; width, 1.536 m.

On the 13th of August, 1790, this statue was discovered
in the main plaza of the city of Mexico, where it had lain
interred since the time of tlie conquest. It is the opinion
of Humboldt (1) that this and other idols were buried by
the soldiers of Cortez to hide them from the sight of the
Aztecs, it is inferred, that they might the more readily
forget them and embrace the Christian faith ; but it is more
logical to suppose that they were hidden beneath the earth
by the Aztecs themselves in the latter days of the siege of
their capital to prevent them from falling into the hands
of the conquerors. The same illustrious author cited
above opines that much light might be thrown on the an-
cient civilization of the Americans by making excavations
in the environs of the Cathedral, near which was the main
square of the antique city of Tenochitlan and the market
Tlaltelolco, whither the Mexicans in the last days of the.
siege retired with their household gods, their sacred books
and all the more valuable of their possessions.

It is seen by the breast that this statue represents a
woman ; her face substituted by the heads of two snakes,
whose bodies twine both in and around her person ; her
skirt formed of many snakes: around her neck, a collar
composed alternately of hands and pouches containing
incense for the gods; and lastly a human skull at hei
waist in front and a like one behind. The statue in its
original position was supported by two pillars beneath the
elbows, leaving the ba,se free of the ground, and on the
bottom is engraved a figure like that found on the image
of Mictlanteuhtli.

The statue is, says Gama, a compendium of many divin-
ities, representing principally the goddess Teoyoamiqui,

(1) Vues des Cordilleres.

whose office it was to gather in the souls of those killed in
battle, it being supposed that their souls went to the man-
sion of the sun in heaven, being transformed after a certain
time to humming-birds. Chavero holds that it represents
the earth-god Coatlicue. (1)

No. 3.
Mictlanteulitli.

Diameter, 1.20 in.

Mictlan was the name given by the Mexicans to the place
whither went the souls of those who died from natural
causes, which region was presided over by the god Mictlan-
h'nlitii a,nd the goddess Mictecacihxatl, these correspondiog,
asGama observes, to Pluto and Prosperina of the infernal
regions of the Greeks and Romans. These dark and dismal
parts were supposed to exist in the center of the earth, and
the temple dedicated to this god was called Tlaxico, which
signifies the bowels or interior of the earth.

The image of the god is sculptured in relief on the circu-
lar stone. With it are several human skulls, being the
manner in which it is represented on other Indian monu-
ments.

No. 4.
Cuauhxicalli of Tizoc.

Diam., 2.65 m. ; height, 0.84 m. ; ciicuni., 8.28 in.

This monument, commonly known as the "Sacrificial
Stone," was encountered in the principal plaza of the city
of Mexico on December 17, 1791, at a slight depth below
the surface. It is a historical-religious monument. On its
face is seen sculptured the image of the sun, to whom it is
dedicated, after the manner in which the Aztecs always
represented him. On the convex surface of the cylinder are
fifteen groups of two persons each, showing one victorious
warrior clutching by the hair various prisoners, these
latter representing sb many conquered tribes, the names
of which are found in the hieroglyphics accompanying
each one. A woman figures as the prisoner in two of the

(1) Anales del Masco Nnoinnal de Mix., v. II. p, 293.

— 6—

groups, the tribe subjected being probably ruled by a
queen. The conqueror is Tizoc, sixth king of Mexico, who
occupied the throne from 1481 to 1486, and the monument
commemorates the victories of this monarch over the
tribes represented on the circumference of the cylinder.

In Mexico there existed an order of nobles, " Knights of
the Eagle," whose patron was the sun. Over this stone,
they used to sacrifice in certain solemnities a human vic-
tim to whom they gave the name of " Messenger of the
Sun." Father Duran, one of the earliest historians of
Mexico, graphically describes this sacrifice in his work.
"Historia de las Indias."

It is thought that this stone may also have been used as
a complement to the calendar stone, to complete the
calendar of the year, the figures on the top of the stone
giving grounds for such supposition.

No. 5.
Chac-Mool.

Length, 1.46 in.; width, 0.77 m.; height, 1.07rn.

This statue was discovered by Dr. A. LePlongeon in the
ruins of Chichen-Iza, Yucatan, and afterwards removed
by the Mexican government to the National Museum.
The history of this discovery and the diverse opinions about
this famous monument may be found in the " Anales dei
Museo Nacional de Mexico," v. I, p. 270. The archaeolo-
gist by whose efforts it was brought to light says it is not
an idol, but a statue of Chac-Mool (signifying tiger) king
of the Atzaes, erected to his memory by his wife, the
queen; that it is of great antiquity, probably twelve
thousand years ; and that in the inscription on the cover-
ing of the ears are found corroborations of these assertions,
as well as other data relative to the history of this king.
The fact that there have been found in the valley of
Mexico and in Tlaxcala statues of similar form has given
rise to the supposition that they all represent.one divinity,
worshipped alike in Mexico and YuGatan.

Chavero in his studies on the subject concludes that the
statue in question is the god of fire, and that the disc
which he holds in his hands represents the sun.

—7—
No. 6.
Commemorative Stone.

Length, 0.88 ru.: width, 0.60 m.

This stone was made to commemorate the foundation of
the great temple of the Aztecs in their capital. From its
description and the interpretation of its hieroglyphics by
Fernando Ramirez (1) we take the following :

"In Mexico, as in Judea, there was a king who thought
to erect a temple that should be the surprise and marvel
of all nations for its magnitude and magnificence, but,
like his Jewish predecessor, he had only the satisfaction of
seeing gathered together his immense materials. The
glory of the completed work commenced by this king,
Txzoc, was reserved for his successor, Ahuitzotl.

" The effigy of Txzoc is shown on the left, the symbol of
his name, a leg, being found near his shoulders. On the
right is seen the terrible and sanguinary Ahuitzotl, whose
symbolical name is represented by a small animal of fan-
tastic form in the same manner as that of Txzoc. The
whole shows that the temple was commenced by this
latter, finished by the former, and afterwards destroyed
by the conquerors and missionaries, our magnificent
Cathedral now occupying the ground where once stood
the pride of the Aztec kings."

On the lower part of the stone is seen sculptured eight
reeds, which correspond to the year 1487, the date of the
completion of the, temple. To make more solemn the
dedication, King Almltzotl proposed to immolate a largely
increased number of human victims in sacrifice.

This act of the Mexican king has caused his uame to be
perpetuated till to-day as a synonym of cruelty and per-
secution.

No. 7.
The Mexican Cycle.

Length, 0.41 m.; diatn., 0.16 m.

The day was divided by the«Aztecs into certain equal
periods of time corresponding to our hours, determined by
observations of the course of the sun and stars. Every
fifth day was a day of rest, called Ttanquiztti and five of
these periods formed a Mexican month of twenty days

(1) Preseott's Conquest, with notes by P. Ramirez.

— 8—

Eighteen months made 360 days, to which were added five
supplementary days to complete the year. The centuiV
or cycle, was composed of fifty-two years

?£*&}}**** to vhioh we reter is composed of a bundle
nim Tr ?!iletrWlt-h C01-^' representing a cycle, or xuihmol-
mlh in the Mexican idiom, the signification of the word
being a union of years.

The most notable of all the feasts of the Aztecs was that
which took place the first day of the century. From super-
stitious causes they feared the destruction of the world at
the end of the century, and the populace, expectant and
HI « * passed ^e last night in the greatest consternation
All fires were extinguished, household goods were des-

X°Jnna£nl JeTls- thrown away. supposing them useless
thenceforth. An immense procession took its way to the
mil ot Ixtapalapa, near Mexico, on whose summit were
performed the ceremonies. At exactly midnight a human
sacrifice was offered up, and over the victim's still palpi-
tating heart the priests with the aid of two dry sticks
ignited the new fire which, with lightning-like rapidity'
was carried to all the temples and houses of the capita
and the surrounding country. This was to the people the
joyful tidings that the world would exist for another cen-
tury, and the happy issue was celebrated by various suc-
cessive days ql feasting and rejoicing, all giving them-
thelfpast fears'"617 t0 pleasure and PrompOy forgetting

Ko. 8.
Grijrantic Head.

Height, 0.91 m.; width, 0.55 in.; circmii., 2.23 m.

This beautiful sculpture, resembling so much Egyptian
work, is believed, from the place in which it was found to
have occupied a position in the great Aztec temple. With
considerable show of reason it is believed bv some archae-
ologists to represent the lost Atlantis. The head-dress of
water dotted with shells suggests her position in the midst
ol the sea ; the piece on top of this symbolizes her sunken
or covered-up condition, and the closed and covered
mouth her unknown history and her silence forever

S^1'108 Bustamente opines that the head represents the
goddess Temazcaltoai; Chavero that it represents Totev
(Crod in his excellence), one of the most splendid manifes-
tations or the sun.

— 9—
No. 9.

Monolith of Tenango.

Height, 1.79 in.; width, 0.51 m.; thickness, 0.205 m.

In the Vatican at Rome is conserved a manuscript repre-
sentation by the Aztecs of the same subject engraved ou
this monument, viz. : the four cosmogohical suns, repre-
senting the four fatal epochs in nature, which according
to their historical and legendary lore had taken place.
Following are the names and the order in which they are
put by the best authors who have written on the subject :
First epoch, Atonatluh, or water sun (corresponding to our
deluge) ; second, Eheaatonatiuh, or wind sun; third, TleJo-
natiuh, or fire sun ; fourth, Tlaltonatluh, or earth sun. (II

This monument is from the town of Tenango, Mexico.

No. 10.
Goddess of Water;

Height, 1.45 iu.; width, 0.75 m.

This statue is from a mountain nearTlalmenalco. Accord-
ing to Chavero it is the goddess of water Plialchiuhtlicue,
with her characteristic head-dress adornments, sister of
the gods of water called Tlaloques. Great reverence was
paid to this class of divinities in those parts.

Near where this statue was found, at the edge of Tex-
coeo, half buried in a ravine, is found a colossal statue of
this same deity some thirty feet in height.

No. 11.
Cross of Palenque.

Length, 1.897 m. : width, 1.256 in.

The general worship of the cross by the aborigines of
this continent was noted with some surprise by the first
writers on American history, and a great variety of opin-
ions is shown in the effort to explain its presence in these
parts. To many it is an evident proof that Christianity
was taught here at a remote period, in time this doctrine

(1) Humboldt : Viiee dcs Cordilleres; v. I. p. 118.

—10—

becoming disfigured and mixed with the false religious
ideas of the Indians. This supposition is strengthened by
many traditions of the ancient Mexicans. To others the
rross is an astronomical sign, the indication of the four
winds, the four seasons, etc., and known from times very
remote, as it was in the old world.

The inscriptions and figures on this cross are but little
understood, and its history entirely unknown. On the
right is the figure of a priest offering up a child to the
sacred bird of fantastic form perched on top of the cross.
The cross terminates at the bottom in a large face, with
mouth opened and a peculiar adornment hanging from
the nose.

The original tablet of the cross as it existed at Palenque
in the " Temple of the Cross " was composed of three
parts, a piece covered with hieroglyphics fitting on each
side of this ceutral part, one of which is in the Smithsonian
Institute at Washington and the other at Merida, Yucatan.

No. 12.
Yoke of Orizaba.

Height, 0.46 in. ; width, 0.33 m. ; thickness, 0.13 m.

This sacrificial yoke is from Orizaba, is an original, and
is like the one described in ': Prescott's Conquest, with
notes by Bamirez." It is of a stone excessively hard and
of a green color. The sculpturing is artistically wrought ;
a head, as of a snake, appearing at the top of the yoke,
and the whole is highly polished.

These yokes were used in the human sacrifices, there
appears little reason to doubt, being put over the neck of
the unhappy victim preparatory to taking out his heart.
As such rites were only practiced in the greater temples of
the country, the number of these sacrificial implements is
not many, and they have only been found where such
grand temples existed.

No. 13.
Cilmacoatl.

Height, 0.0 in.

This statue represents a woman dressed and adorned in
the style of the Aztec nobility. The hands and feet of this

—11-

statue have been restored. The rattlesnake found en-
circling her waist makes it seem very probable that it is a
statue of the goddess Cihuacoatl, or snake-woman, the Eve
of the Aztecs, from Avhom they believed the whole human
race to have descended.

No. 14.

Yohualteuhtli.

This beautifully worked figure appears to us to represent
the same serpent engraved on the outer circle of the
calendar stone, Yohualteulttli, described by Gama on page
100 of his excellent work. The human face in the mouth
of the serpent on the calendar stone is seen, though mucli
disfigured, on the coiled serpent, and the arm and claw is
seen plainly, the figures on the bodies of the -two being
also very similar.

No. 15.
Bass-Relief from Palenque.

Height, 1.2 m. ; width, 0.3 m.

This piece is notable for the artistic workmanship dis-
played thereon. A man is represented undergoing a pun-
ishment of some kind, with his hands tied behind him, an
expression of extreme pain being pictured in the face and
attitude of the prisoner.

It is supposed from the hieroglyphics to have come from
Palenque.

No. 16.
Palenque Divinity.

Height, 0.563 m.

This figure, of a style original and elegant, and of beau-
tiful execution, gives a good idea of the progress and the
artistic taste of the Mexican tribes. According to the
description of M. Dupaix (1), it represents a god with the

(1) Airtiquite's Mexicaines, examou des planchee <Je la deuxifeu
expedition, p. 58.

—12-

attributes that characterize the active principle of nature
that produces the fruit and grain. It is the god that
creates and conserves, and is ever in hostility with the
destructive genius. On its head is a diadem of large
plumes in form of an arc, sign of its importance. On its
torehead is shown the great snake called by modern
astronomers "Eve's serpent," whose presence in the
heavens signifies harvest time. This celebrated serpent
figures in ancient mysticism as Serapis in Egypt as
Wlschnou in India, Vitzlipultzi in Mexico, Fohi in 'China
Msculapie in Greece, and as Thor or Asa-Thor in Scandina-
via. From the ears of corn that adorn its temples and the
vessel in its hands, it is thought to represent the god of
abundance and of medicine, worshipped indistinctly in
ancient Egypt under the name of Serapis or Osiris Onno-
p/trio.

Nos. 17, 18, 19, 20.

Mythological Animals.

Under this head we have the representation ofVarioin
animals, among them that of the feathered serpent, of
winch there are two specimens.

This reptile played a very important part in Mexican
tradition. Attention is called to No. 19, an ocelotl or tiger
trom the town of Tlalmanalco, which has the skeleton of
the back-bone exposed to view, a particular the significance
of which is unknown. Hieroglyphics on the ears of this
animal are noted to be somewhat similar to the figure on
top ot the head of Chac-Mool. Another animaf of this
class is an enlarged representation of a frog, number 20

No. 21.
Red Painted Idol.

Height, 1.10 ni.

This is the name by which it is known in the National
Museum of Mexico, though it is our opinion that the color
which it had when found was given to it in times posterior
to the conquest. It was encountered in the town of Tlal-
manalco, situated over the base on which it now standi

which latter is covered with beautiful carvings in the Gre-
cian style.

The face of the statue is covered with a mask, as can be
plainly seen. From the forehead backwards over the
shoulders depends a beautiful head-dress; sandals are on
the feet; the whole body appears as if covered by a gar-
ment of fine texture on which are depicted flowers and
some hieroglyphics similar to those on the base; around
the neck hang3 a string of claws shaped like those on the
feet of the goddess Teoyoamiqui; its aspect as a whole
being rare and curious.

Chavero thinks the statue represents the god Bcosauh-
qiti.

No. 22.
Statue of a Humpback.

A very life-like representation of a humpback is here
given, the head is enveloped in a tight-fitting cover, on
the right side of which is the symbolical sign of its name.

The significance of this sign is a bundle or union, hence
it is inferred that the statue may represent the inventor
of the instrument by which the reform in the calendar was
made at the end of each century, the .vhihmolpilli, or union
of years. We had in our possession some years ago a
document in the Mexican language which said that the
king Tizoc had a humpback son, and it is possible that
this figure is a representation of him.

No. 2:5.

Statue.

Height, 0.77 metres.

There is a great resemblance between this statue and
that of Chcdchiuhllmce, or the water goddess, which deity
it probably represents. Various marks at different heights
on the sides of this statue, (supposed to have shown the
different levels of the water of Lake Texcoco, with which
the City of Mexico was surrounded in those times) go als<>
to show that this statue is a representation of that same
deity.

—14—

No. 24.
Funeral Urn.

Diam., 0.66 m., depth., 0.256 in.

Superstitious ideas in regard to the future life have been
the origin for the most part of the ceremonies practiced in
paying a last tribute to the dead, and among the Mexicans,
as well as among many other peoples, these ceremoni*^
took sometimes a barbarous form. On the death of a king
or one of the nobility the body was burned on a funeral
pyle and the bones and head, or sometimes only the ashes,
put in an urn adorned with pictures of idols, over which
was placed the image of the deceased in painting or in
sculpture. In ancient Egypt very similar urns were used
in a like manner.

This urn is covered on the convex surface with many
skulls, and on the inside is beautifully carved.

Kos, 25, 26.

Funeral Urns.

These two urns are of marked Egyptian style in the
sculpturing, and are very like those found in the Egyptian
gallery of the Royal Museum of Paris. Their form is
quadrilateral and their size shows they were used to con-
tain the bones as well as the ashes of some important
personage.

No. 27.
Great Vase or Tub.

Diam., 1.07 in. ; depth, 0.47 ni.

Little is so far known of the history or use of this notable
work. The figures sculptured on the bottom and circum-
ference are similar to those on the "Vase of the Sun."
described by Sanchez in the " Anales del Museo de Mexico. "

In an old'Aztec document representing a gift by the kin ^
of Texcoco to the king of Mexico is a figure very similar I •
this. From various water animals found sculptured on
the base it is thought to be commemorative of the first sun
of the Aztecs, or the deluge. It is a monument on which
much study could be profitably spent.

—15—

No. 28.
Bass-Relief.

Commemorative of an inundation.

Nos. 29.

Aztec Nun.

Humboldt describes a statue in " Yues des Cordilleres,"
vol. 1. of which this is an almost exact representation. In
the head-dress there is a surprising similarity to the veil
or valantica found on the statues of Isis, on the Sphinx and
on a great many other Egyptian statues.

No. 30.
Chapolin or Grasshopper.

An enlarged figure of a grasshopper. The perigrina-
tions of the Aztec tribe, when they came from the north,
ended at Chapultepec (hill of the grasshopper) near
Mexico, of which event this figure is commemorative.

No. 31.
Statuette.

A small statue of the goddess Cihuacoatl or snake-woman.

No. 32.

Face of Chinese Type.

The Chinese features of this face, or mask, are very
marked.

No. 33.
Obsidian Vase.

The work on a vase of intricate pattern made of this
material, which is as hard and brittle as glass, is almost

—16—

incredible, especially when it is considered that the use of
iron was entirely unknown to the ancient races of Mexico.

No. 34.
Vases.

These are small reproductions of some notable antique
vases brought from the ruins of Yucatan.

-*- •

PAINTINGS.

In this collection are found the best works of the Mexi-
can artists of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as
well as some by European masters. The subjects
represented are chiefly religious and historical.

BOOKS.

On Mexican archaeology and the ancient history of
America, as well as many very valuable rare and ancient
works.

r?t ltd