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Art of Aztec Mexico: Treasures of Tenochtitlan

September 28, 1983 – April 1, 1984
East Building, Upper Level, West Bridge (7,000 sq. ft.)

Installation view of Art of Aztec Mexico: Treasures of Tenochtitlan, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Gallery Archives

This exhibition is no longer on view at the National Gallery.

Overview: Most of the 86 objects of stone, clay, metal, wood, mosaic, and feathers had been excavated recently at the site of the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan in Mexico City.

Organization: The exhibition was a joint project of the National Gallery with the pre-Columbian department of Dumbarton Oaks. It was organized by Elizabeth Boone and H.B. Nicholson, University of California, Los Angeles. The installation was designed by Gaillard Ravenel and Mark Leithauser, who also coordinated the exhibition together with Dodge Thompson. Gordon Anson designed the lighting.

Sponsor: The exhibition was supported by GTE Corporation and an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Attendance: 365,789

Catalog: Art of Aztec Mexico: Treasures of Tenochtitlan, by H.B. Nicholson with Eloise Quinones Keber. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 1983.

Download a free PDF of the exhibition catalog (PDF 80.61MB)