Zapotec Figural Terracotta Tripod Censer mingqi which played a crucial role

which played a crucial role in expressing status

monumental architecture

cylindrical neck

while the protruding head features button-shaped eyes

and on ancestral spirits (amadlozi

Zapotec Figural Terracotta Tripod Censer mingqi which played a crucial roleZapotec civilization, c. 600 1350AD, Valley of Oaxaca, Mesoamerica. An intriguing tripod terracotta censer from the Zapotec civilization, also known as the "Cloud People," who flourished in the Valley of Oaxaca, Mesoamerica. This ceremonial piece, carefully shaped and decorated, depicts a priest or deity with an elaborate headdress, a hallmark of the distinct anthropomorphic censers produced by the Zapotecs, especially at their capital city of Monte