Aztec Skull Priest Ceramic Sculpture, "Aztec Sacrifice"

Grasping a snake, an Aztec priest wears a skull mask while other skulls appear in his hand and on his ankle. Artisans from the Angel Cerón Artisan Association convey their own conception of the leader responsible for the ritual of human sacrifice. "The Aztecs believed that this helped settle an ancient debt mankind had with the gods," the Mexican artisans explain.