Incensario Efigie

The polychromatic style of Cholula was a ceramic produced in the city of Cholula in the current state of Puebla, which had wide distribution in the Late Postclassic. This style is distinguished by ceramic of different shapes with the rim painted in red, with decorative bands in solid color and others with different motifs painted mostly in white, black, red and orange. This is a beautiful example of a two handle censer with holes for hanging; it is decorated with the same effigy of a dog, on the opposite side, that has been identified as the image of the god Xolotl with the typical ears cut painted on the surface of the vessel, flanked by butterflies symbolizing fire. The jade glyph or chalchihuitl, a symbol of precious, was painted on the handles of the vessel in black. The band painted around the base has several glyphs: a cruciform element, characteristic of this ceramic, known as "lily," and that has been interpreted as the representation of a bone; concentric circles represent stellar eyes; cut shells or ehecacózcatl and small black spots on orange background evoking jaguar’s fur. All these elements are related to the god Xolotl, double of Quetzalcoatl in his invocation of Venus as evening star.Arqlga. Bertina Olmedo Vera