The mysterious 600-year-old mask of the Aztec fire god.

The Xiuhtecuhtli mask, currently on display at the British Museum in London, is one of the turquoise artifacts that the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés took from the Aztec Empire and brought back to Europe as a treasure in the early 16th century.

The mask, made of wood and inlaid with turquoise, represents Xiuhtecuhtli, the Aztec god of fire. (Source: PA Images)

According to experts at the British Museum, the blue mask may symbolize the cycles of renewal in the history of the Aztecs in the Americas. The mask is carved from cedar wood and decorated with turquoise mosaic pieces, the eyes are made of pearls with gold rims, and the teeth are made of mother-of-pearl.

The inside of the mask is coated with cinnabar – a brick-red mineral containing mercury. The mask is approximately 16.8 cm tall and has small holes at the temples, suggesting it was once tied with strings for wearing.

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Xiuhtecuhtli, meaning "lord of turquoise" in the Nahuatl language, is the name of the Aztec god of fire. The Aztecs kept a "sacred fire" burning continuously in the Temple of Fire in the city of Tenochtitlan. All the other fires in the city drew their fire from this flame.

Every 52 years, the Aztec priests would extinguish the fire. The highest-ranking priest, wearing a turquoise mask symbolizing Xiuhtecuhtli, would then perform Xiuhtlalpilli, or the "new fire ritual," to pray for the renewal and further development of Aztec civilization for another half-century.

The darker turquoise mosaic pieces on the cheeks and nose of the mask form the shape of a butterfly, another symbol of renewal in Aztec culture.

Researchers suggest that the turquoise mosaic pieces on the mask may depict the Aztec mythological god Nanahuatzin, who sacrificed himself by leaping into a fire and subsequently transforming into the sun.

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The Aztec was a Mesoamerica culture that flourished in central Mexico during the late Classic period, from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec civilization was organized into city-states (altepetl), often allied with each other in the form of empires or federations.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/ky-bi-chiec-mat-na-co-600-nam-tuoi-cua-than-lua-aztec-295151.html