A practical calendar, testimony to science, and artistic riddle to this day: the most richly decorated of the only four Mayan manuscripts still preserved today
Codex Dresdensis
Central America

Codex Dresdensis
Central America
With 42 artistically illustrated pages (originally folded as a leporello), the most richly illustrated of the only four surviving Mayan manuscripts
Celestial observations, numerical mysticism, and a practical calendar for the worship of certain gods, hunting, or home construction
This codex represents one of the most important ethnographic sources on the Maya today
Codex Dresdensis
Short Description
Of the three surviving Mayan manuscripts with hieroglyphs, the Codex Dresdensis is considered to be the most richly decorated: it boasts 42 illustrated pages. Aside from its aesthetic value, it represents one of the most important ethnographic sources on the Maya that has survived to the present.
Codex Dresdensis
"Only three of the native books of pictures with explanatory hieroglyphs, usually called codices, have survived. Although imperfectly understood, they have added considerably to our knowledge of the Maya deities."
J. E. S. Thompson, The Civilizations of the Mayas, Chicago 1958, p. 26
An Artistic Gem
"... Codex Dresdensis, which besides being the most important of the three Maya codices, is also considered as the most artistic. It has been printed in Graz with the most up-to-date techniques, and the photography of almost all of the codex´s 78 pages is entirely new. Included with the full color Graz facsimile of the codex, which is in its original screen-like form, is a supplementary 135-page book that contains commentaries by Helmut Deckert and Ferdinand Anders on the history and early editions of the manuscript. The book also has 42 pages of illustrations, including the codex as it was printed in black and white by the Villacortas in 1930, and examples of the color reproductions of Ernst Forstmann and Lord E. K. Kingsborough. The codex and the book come packed together in a heavy cardboard box with a leather spine and are a valuable addition to the library of anyone interested in Maya codices."
H. C. Ball, Newsletter (Inst. of Maya Studies) jan. 1977 (Miami Museum of Science)
Codicology
- Size / Format
- 78 pages / 20.5 x 9.0 cm
- Origin
- Central America
- Epochs
- Style
1 available facsimile edition(s) of „Codex Dresdensis“
Codex Dresdensis
- Publisher
- Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA) – Graz, 1975
- Binding
- Encased in box with leather spine.
- Commentary
-
1 volume (93 pages) by F. Anders and H. Deckert
Language: German
With contributions by F. Anders and H. Deckert; 93 pp. introduction, 39 pp. with black-and-white reproduction of the codex, 10 colour plates. - More Information
- Reproduction of the entire original document as detailed as possible (scope, format, colors). The binding may not correspond to the original or current document binding.
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