The mystery of the obsidian monkey vase

The obsidian vessel in the shape of a monkey is one of the most iconic pieces of the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, it is considered by experts as one of the masterpieces of the cultures of central Mexico a couple of years before the Europeans arrived to the Great Tenochtitlan.

The acquisition of this work of art took place in 1882, when it appeared for the first time in the catalog of the National Museum of Mexico, located on Moneda Street, in the historic center of Mexico City.

Picture of the Museo Nacional de Antropología in Mexico City.

This appearance is unusual since it is not the product of an investigation or purchase endorsed by the state, it is a decontextualized piece and the primary source is an amateur archaeologist Eugene Boban who tells that in 1869 a doctor named Rafael Lucio had exchanged his medical service to a peasant for the obsidian piece, this event was in the region of Texcoco, today near the International Airport of Mexico City, a very interesting region and that I visit in my tours, visit me precisely the archaeological site of Texcoco, returning to history, the medium sold the piece to the National Museum, there is evidence of the purchase in 600 pesos in 1877, since then it is in the hands of the Institute of archeology, today it can be seen in the National Museum of Anthropology, located in Av. Reforma, for many years it was considered a fake piece, this due to the fame that Eugene Boban the collector had, besides that many archaeologists considered a piece impossible to make with stone tools, the finish is so perfect that they thought that only with modern instruments could reach such refinement of obsidian, however it was not discarded.

The piece is a cylindrical container made with obsidian, which has details in the form of a spider monkey, you can clearly see its head, hands, legs and tail that wraps around the vessel, highlights its brightness, symmetry and its polished so smooth, which is why it was questioned, if the ancients had made it, it must have been an expert and perfectionist in the tapping of the obsidian stone, which is very difficult because the first blow could break the look of the original piece, after achieving this almost impossible task, it is polished with another type of stone and abrasive powders to give the final finish, is a vessel of 15 centimeters, the source is presumed to be of Acolhua affiliation culture settled in Texcoco, archaeological piece that is located in the timeline in the late post-classical, this means it was the time of the Aztecs (Mexica).

Catalog drawing of the Museo Nacional S. XIX.

As a curious note this piece was stolen from the National Museum of Anthropology on December 25, 1985. This story is a complete post, fortunately it was recovered and returned to the museum where to this day it can be visited.

Theft of archaeological pieces at the Museo Nacional de Antropología. 

Finally in the XXI century since 2009 the vessel would be vindicated as a piece of incalculable historical value, in a project headed by the scientist Reina Solis and the scientist Emiliano Melgar, who began to work the obsidian vessel with barrel electron microscopy technology, which basically is a type of microscope that scans surfaces using electrons.

Research to validate the provenance of the obsidian piece

Their results indicate that the piece was made with obsidian from the Sierra de las Navajas, near the archaeological site of Teotihuacan, the techniques used are consistent with the late post-classic period and the Acolhua culture and of course there is no indication that it was worked with modern metal instruments, that's right friends, the piece is authentic and it is impressive that the ancient artisans have reached this level of perfection with a stone that is not easy to handle, if you like this piece as much as I do you can buy replicas, of course it is not economical but it is worth it.