Aztec Goddess Coatlicue

Wood engraving made after a famous statue of the goddess Coatlicue, which was discovered in Mexico in 1790. It was at first incorrectly identified as a representation of Teoyaomiqui.

Coatlicue (She who wears a skirt of snakes) is represented as a fearsome-looking woman with clawed fingers, a necklace made of human remains (hands, heart, skull) and, of course, her skirt of snakes. In the Aztec mythology, she was the goddess of the earth.

The caption reads in the original French: Teoyaomiqui, la Déesse de la Mort, idole mexicaine.