Skip to main content
Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
Xipe Totec
Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
© Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami. All rights reserved.

Xipe Totec

Artist/Maker (Central Valley, Mexico)
Dateca. 1350-1521
Mediumbasalt
DimensionsOverall: 11 1/2 x 6 x 8 in. (29.2 x 15.2 x 20.3 cm)
ClassificationsVisual Works
Credit LineGift of The Rubin - Ladd Foundation
Terms
    Object number2008.39.20
    DescriptionThe god Xipe Totec, “our lord the flayed one,” symbolized the regeneration of the earth’s vegetation each spring and the harvest of corn each fall. Xipe Totec priests would wear the skin of a sacrificial victim for twenty days, or until it fell rotten from their bodies, to symbolize the ability of life to spring from death. Images of Xipe Totec are easily recognizable by the flayed skin worn by a priest. The skin is tied at the back of the body and head, and the eyes and mouth of the wearer emerge from facial openings. The great number of Xipe Totec images found throughout Mesoamerica reveals the widespread practice of his rituals as one of the most significant deities of agriculture and fertility. His representations are usually striking to the Western viewer given the apparent contrast between the calm attitude of the priest and the intrinsic violence of the ritual.
    On View
    Not on view
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    ca. 450-650
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Olmec
    ca. 800-300 BCE
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Aztec
    ca. 1350-1521
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Aztec
    ca. 1350-1521
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Olmec
    ca. 1500-400 BCE
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Aztec
    ca. 1350-1521
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Greater Nicoya
    ca. 1-700
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Artist Unknown
    ca. 200-250
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Colima
    ca. 300 BCE-300 CE
    Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami
    Greater Nicoya
    ca. 300-500