The aesthetic appreciation of the object leads us to highlight first the uniform black color, lustrous and velvety texture, then the reduced sized of the vessel and the animal head that protrudes on its outer circumference. It is a thin earthenware pot with a flat base, slightly concave wall and thinned rim, uniform interior and exterior curvatures and smooth overall surface. The delicate workmanship is in keeping with the preciousness of the material.
The dimensions and appearance of the stone suggest that it is black amber, a gem that emerged from fossilized wood. Due to its composition this organic mineral is considered a variant of coal. It is compact, but not hard, it is light, it is not cold, and its luster is oily or waxy. It is not abundant in nature and in geology it is classified as a semi-precious stone.
Mesoamerican societies esteemed black amber as a precious stone and objects made with it as jewelry, in a cultural sense that refers to the highest qualities of beauty, the sacred, the valuable, the luxurious, the exclusive and rare. In particular, the Nahua people of central Mexico called it teotetl, that is, "divine stone" or "stone of the Sun," which reminds us that it is not a cold material. From geology it is specified that it burns producing a lot of smoke, giving off bituminous and sometimes foul odor; as with amber, when rubbed it becomes electrically charged.
The word teotetl is composed of the words teotl, god and tetl, stone. According to the translation of Lizandra Espinosa Ramírez and the Nahuatl Santo de la Cruz Hernández, in the Nahuatl column of the so-called Florentine Codex it is stated that: "from it came its name god, and stone; that is why nowhere does one appear, like the stone with black ink, which means it is only loved, it is only appreciated, because it is like the god himself, black, blackened, completely black, blackened like tar, perfectly black, perfectly perfect black." Art historian Espinosa Ramírez's analysis of the concept of "precious stones" in Book IX of the codex highlights that in the alphabetical Nahuatl gloss the word "god" is only used for two stones, teutetl and teuxiuitl (turquoise), which is evidence of their supreme value.
In Spanish-Nahuatl dictionaries of the 16th century, such as that of Alonso de Molina, teotl is identified with the stone black amber. It is interesting to note that in an anonymous manuscript of the 18th century, preserved in the National Library of (BnF, Fonds Mexicain Nº 362), it is noted: "Azauachi, this is not properly black amber but a black stone that in Tarasco they call Tzinap." This root is part of the name of several localities in Michoacan and has been associated with obsidian; however, it could be black amber. The sources are scarce, but in Relación de Michoacán it is striking that Curícaueri, the main god of the Late Post-Classic Tarascans, who was of a solar type, is analogized with a "stone," which approximates a coincidence with the Nahuatl religious system of Central Mexico.
The head protruding from the earthenware pot is reminiscent of a lizard, it functions as a handle, and from the work as a whole it is possible to infer a ritual use, perhaps to place some object, material, or substance. Mesoamerican art abounds in ceramic and stone vessels with figurative elements, in which these are integrated into the shape of the vessel. The ornamentation served several purposes, such as embellishing and indicating the practical use and symbolism of the work.
Verónica Hernández Díaz
