Man Carrying a Cacao Pod

Aztec

1 of 5

Object Label

The importance of maize (corn) and chocolate, two of the many plants native to the Americas, is exemplified by these Aztec sculptures.

The relief panel of the maize goddess Chicomecóatl may have been set into an altar. Chicomecóatl controlled the positive and negative powers of growth and famine. Her elaborate headdress is topped by two ears of corn. In her right hand, she holds a snake-shaped rattle staff, used to penetrate and fertilize the soil.

The man carrying a cacao pod may represent one of the merchants who brought cacao beans from the tropical coastal lowlands to the Valley of Mexico. Chocolate, made from the beans of the cacao pod, was a popular drink in Aztec society.

Caption

Aztec. Man Carrying a Cacao Pod, 1440–1521. Volcanic stone, traces of red pigment, 14 1/4 x 7 x 7 1/2in. (36.2 x 17.8 x 19.1cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund, 40.16. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 40.16_front_PS9.jpg)

Gallery

Not on view

Culture

Aztec

Title

Man Carrying a Cacao Pod

Date

1440–1521

Geography

Place found: Amatlan, Mexico

Medium

Volcanic stone, traces of red pigment

Classification

Sculpture

Dimensions

14 1/4 x 7 x 7 1/2in. (36.2 x 17.8 x 19.1cm)

Credit Line

Museum Collection Fund

Accession Number

40.16

Rights

Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

Frequent Art Questions

  • Was chocolate like money for the Aztecs?

    Yes! For the Aztec cacao beans were prized trade items. Though they weren't as valuable as gold, textiles or axes, cacao was used for trade most certainly!
  • What was the red pigment made out of on the Man Carrying Cacao pod Aztec sculpture?

    This pigment on this particular sculpture has not been scientifically analyzed so we aren't certain, but some of the reds that the Aztecs may have used include cinnabar, iron oxides, and cochineal.
    Thanks!
  • Can you tell me more about this?

    In this sculpture, a man is shown carrying a cacao pod, the beans from which would have been used to create chocolate. Unlike a great deal of Aztec sculpture that has ritual connotations, this sculpture is believed to be purely secular. This is also a great example of naturalism in Aztec sculpture.

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