Codex Borgia
The surviving manuscripts of Old Mexico describing the culture of the indigenous civilization are some of the most precious illuminated manuscripts in existence due to their rarity, exotic decoration, and value as historical and anthropological sources. The Codex Borgia is completely unique among the group of old preserved Mexican manuscripts due to its description of the great "national" temple rituals. It also includes descriptions of the temple priests, the rites they performed, and the knowledge they possessed.
Codex Borgia
The Codex Borgia is probably one of the most beautifully preserved indigenous American illuminated manuscripts. The predominant content of the manuscript deals with calendar sooth-saying, as well as the knowledge of time-lapse and yearly time through the temple scholars. Fantastic illustrations of groups of figures and mysterious gods animate the 78 illustrated pages of the manuscript. Additionally, one also finds the most amazing rituals from the grand Aztec empire, which is particularly fascinating because they are rituals of a primarily private and personal character. The Codex Borgia is completely unique among the group of old preserved Mexican manuscripts due to its description of the great "national" temple rituals. The spiritual acts provide witness to the seemingly strange world of old Mexico before its destruction by the Spanish Conquistadors. The wealth of information which guides us through the pages of this splendiferous manuscript is inexhaustible. The great wisdom of the old priest scholars is masterfully depicted. The drawings demonstrate a deeply intimate design as well as the artistic accomplishment of the painter. In completing this old Mexican manuscript, the painter shares an insight into a magnificent and extinct culture.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Borgia-Codex
Códice Borgia
Codex Borgianus
Codex Mexicanus Borgianus
Codice borgiano
Codice messicano borgiano
Codex de Velletri
Codex Yoalli Ehēcatl - Size / Format
- 78 pages / 27.0 × 26.5 cm
- Origin
- Mexico
- Date
- 15th century
- Epochs
- Style
- Script
- Pictographs
- Illustrations
- 76 fascinating full-page picture programs
- Content
- Information on the Aztec religion, including rituals and festivals
- Previous Owners
- Cardinal Stefano Borgia (1731–1804)
Codex Borgia
The Deceased God Mixcóatl
Found at the top of an enigmatic calendar square that may be intended to describe the cardinal directions in the land of the dead, we see the god Mixcóatl with his distinctive red-and-white-striped skin and a black mask over his eyes. He is dead with his eyes closed, wrapped in a bundle, and adorned with funerary banners on his throne. Mixcóatl was the god of the hunt, the father of Quetzalcóatl, and patron of the day signs of the South, which are pictured in the red squares at his feet.
Codex Borgia
The Naguals
Aside from describing temple rituals and Aztec deities, this rare Pre-Columbian manuscript also depicts naguals – shapeshifters common to several Mesoamerican folk traditions. Sometimes a part of a community’s religious hierarchy, although someone treated with a mixture of fear and respect, other naguals were treated with hostility and lived as outcasts.
The naguals could transform into animals, which is part of the Mesoamerican belief in tonalism, whereby every person has an animal with whom they have a close spiritual link determined by their birthday. This bizarre, brightly colored, and intricately detailed miniature page has a psychedelic aesthetic, an indication of the importance of hallucinogenic drugs in this religious tradition.
#1 Codex Borgia
Languages: English, French, Spanish
Karl Anton Nowotny, Cologne. Summaries in English, French and in Spanish. 52 pp., folded plate, 8 figs.
(1,000€ - 3,000€)
#2 Códice Borgia
Language: Spanish
(1,000€ - 3,000€)
#3 Códice Borgia
Language: Spanish
(1,000€ - 3,000€)
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