Cleveland Museum of Art
Basin with Feathered Serpent
- Date
- 400–550 CE
- Medium
- earthenware, stucco, pigment
- Culture
- Central Mexico, Teotihuacán style, Classic period
- Department
- Art of the Americas
- Institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Object ID
- 141605
From the Cleveland Museum of Art record
The serpent covered with the green feathers of the tropical quetzal bird is an image of verdant, bountiful nature and life. It also may be a symbol of rulership, thus linking rulers to cosmic forces and the natural order. Four human hearts lie beneath the serpent on this unusually large basin, suggesting that sacrifice stimulates nature’s fruitfulness.
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Provenance & credit
As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.
- Credit line
- Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
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