More than 350,000 persons have visited the exhibition “Moctezuma II. Time and Destiny of a Ruler”, which opened at the Templo Mayor Museum on June 17th 2010, where 220 Prehispanic and Colonial jewels account for the life of the last Tenochtitlan governor. The exhibition will be open until January 16th 2011.
Carlos Gonzalez, director of Templo Mayor Museum, informed that since the inauguration of the precinct of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in 1987, no other exhibition had raised as much interest among the public, also generated by the success the show had in the British Museum in London, where 210,000 persons visited it.
Archaeologist Leonardo Lopez Lujan, one of the curators, remarked that “unlike the exhibition mounted in Europe, in Mexico it is presented with a new format with a double attraction: the character of Moctezuma is approached, and the Tlaltecuhtli monolith is presented to the public for the first time, with the 98 pieces of the offerings associated to this Mexica deity”.
According to the chronology by archaeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma, also curator of this exhibition, the Tlaltecuhtli sculpture was commissioned by Moctezuma II in 1502; it weighs 12 tons and is the largest found from the Mexica culture, being larger than Piedra del Sol (Aztec Calendar), Coatlicue and Coyolxauhqui monolyths.
Lopez Lujan mentioned that among the objects exhibited for the first time, placed inside 6 showcases at the module dedicated to the Tlaltecuhtli monumental sculpture, 2 sacrificial knives that have as a special feature and spider monkey skin stand out.
Golden objects offered to Tlaltecuhtli are on display, as well as the attired skeleton of a wolf and a group of wooden pieces that were well conserved due to the fact that remained submerged at the phreatic surface.
Sculptures, wooden masks, flint knives, clothes, amatl figures, ceramic flutes, golden ornaments and other objects exclusively used by the Mexica ruling class are also exhibited.
Three codices reproductions are also on display, which represent a journey through time that shows the life, epoch and destiny of the ruler of Tenochtitlan upon the Spaniards arrival.
Seven modules account for the history of the Mexica city and its rulers; The foundation of Tenochtitlan in the 12th century AD; the government of the 8 tlatoanis that ruled before Moctezuma II; his own ascension to the throne; the expansion of the empire, and the period of the encounter between the conquerors and the Mexicas.
Among the outstanding pieces of this show are the Teocalli of the Sacred War, where a representation of Moctezuma is depicted, as well as the symbol of the Tenochtitlan foundation, an eagle standing on a cactus.
Moctezuma II. Tiempo y destino de un gobernante, is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 17:00 at Templo Mayor Museum, 8 Seminario St., Centro Historico. The admission fee is 51 MXP; children under 13, senior citizens, teachers and students with valid ID do not pay. On Sundays entrance is free for Mexican citizens and residents.
Source: Art Daily [December 26, 2010]