A Ceremonial Incense Burner

This volcanic rock sculpture depicts a ceremonial brazier discovered by Leopoldo Batres in 1906 atop the platform annexed to the Pyramid of the Sun. Batres believed it probably held the sacred fire during religious events. He described it as a large brazier shaped like a double goblet, encircled at the middle by a band that appears to hold two small squares placed opposite each other on the vessel's outer walls, with carvings of twisted cords like those on the panels and four bars knotted in the middle. He thought it was probably used to light the sacred fire in its renewal every 52 years, as the Mexicas did.

State of Mexico · Mexico