The following description is from the Vincent Price Art Museum (http://vincentpriceartmuseum.org/)
Ceramic Veracruz, Gulf Coast, Mexico Gift of Daniel Melnick VPAM Permanent Collection 1999.0001.0001
“The incense burner, such as this large seated figure from Veracruz, served a variety of very important functions in the daily lives and religious rituals of Pre-Columbian civilizations across Mesoamerica. Also known as an incensario, the incense burner was used to burn copal, an aromatic tree sap, and other herbs or resins as offerings to their spiritual pantheon. The smoke form the incense burner was thought to awaken the gods and served as a vehicle for communication with the gods in shamanistic riturals. The figure’s cone-shapen cap and the snake fangs emerging from its wide mouth suggest that this example is likely the god Quetzalcoatl, the Toltec/Aztec feathered serpent. Incense burners of this sitze were often placed inside the tomb of an important figure or by the entrace or interior of a temple.”
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