LONDON, ENGLAND.- The Royal Academy of Arts presents "Aztecs," on view through April 11, 2003. This autumn, the Royal Academy will present a ground-breaking exhibition devoted to the cultural riches of Mexico’s Aztec past. The most comprehensive survey of Aztec culture ever mounted, this five-month long show will highlight the splendours, variety and sophistication of the Aztec civilisation. One of the most ambitious exhibitions ever staged at the RA, it will bring together some 350 outstanding works, including some which have never previously been shown outside Mexico, together with works from major public collections in Europe and the United States.

The exhibition will trace the origins of the Aztecs and show how they drew inspiration from the religions and artefacts of earlier cultures and places, such as Teotihuacan and the Toltecs of Tula. The main part of the exhibition will be devoted to the art of the Aztec Empire which dates from 1325, when the Aztecs settled at Tenochtitlan (present day Mexico City) to its demise in 1521, following the arrival of the Spanish in 1519.

The exhibition will explore the key themes of Aztec culture including the importance of the cosmos, the role of the different gods, the issue of kingship, the culture of war and human sacrifice as part of the cycle of life and death, and the natural world. The largest gallery will be dedicated to a dramatic display centred on the Templo Mayor or the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan, believed to be the symbolic and physical centre of the Aztec world. The exhibition will contain many of the ritual objects found on the site, including the extraordinary lifesize terracotta figures of the eagle warrior and of the Lord of Death, Mictlantecuhtli, on show for the first time outside Mexico.

The Aztecs were highly skilled stonemasons and sculptors, fashioning objects from a wide variety of materials, and creating highly detailed depictions of gods, people, and the natural world. In addition to monumental sculptures in stone and wood, featherwork objects and ceramics, Aztecs will unite spectacular works of art made of turquoise mosaics, gold and other precious materials. These are among the most exquisite objects ever made in the Ancient Americas.

Amongst the many treasures on display, the exhibition will also reunite some of the most important codices or pictorial manuscripts, which the Aztecs used to record their history and communicate information. This will be the largest number of these extraordinary documents ever to be displayed together. Aztecs will conclude with an outstanding display of art from the contact period - the years following the Spanish arrival in 1519 - demonstrating how the native skills of the Aztecs fused with European traditions of painting and sculpture to create unique religious art works.