Visual Depiction
To her people, Chalchihuitlicue was seen as a flowing river, producing a prickly pear tree encumbered with a tremendous amount of fruit. The fruit was a symbol for the human hearts that were sacrificed to the goddess. Chalchihuitlicue's distinctive hairdressing denotes her status. Her headdress consisted of several broad bands that in all probability were made of cotton and trimmed with amaranth seeds. Large round tassels fell from the goddess's headdress. Chalchihuitlicue was viewed as beautiful lady whose clothing is that of a noble woman, which consisted of an extravagant shawl adorned with tassels and a green skirt. A stream of water, which usually included a baby from both genders, was often depicted flowing from of the goddess’ skirt. In addition, Chalchihuitlicue could also be seen carrying a cross. For the Aztecs the cross was a symbol of fertility, and also stood for the four winds that brought the rain to water the crops.
Read more about this topic: Matlalcueitl (Mesoamerican Deity)
Famous quotes containing the word visual:
“The visual is sorely undervalued in modern scholarship. Art history has attained only a fraction of the conceptual sophistication of literary criticism.... Drunk with self-love, criticism has hugely overestimated the centrality of language to western culture. It has failed to see the electrifying sign language of images.”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)