Codex Dresdensis

Codex Dresdensis – Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA) – Mscr. Dresd. R 310 – SĂ€chsische Landesbibliothek – Staats- und UniversitĂ€tsbibliothek (Dresden, Germany)

Yucatán Peninsula — between 1300 and 1521

A practical calendar, testimony to science, and an artistic enigma to this day: the most richly decorated and probably the most famous of the only four surviving Mayan manuscripts

  1. With 39 artistically illustrated leaves (originally folded as a leporello), the most richly illustrated of the only four surviving Mayan manuscripts

  2. Celestial observations, numerical mysticism, and a practical calendar for the worship of certain gods, hunting, or home construction

  3. This codex represents one of the most important ethnographic sources on the Maya today

Codex Dresdensis

Facsimile Copy Available!
Price Category: €€
(1,000€ - 3,000€)
  1. Description
  2. Facsimile Editions (2)
Description
Codex Dresdensis

The Dresden Codex is one of only four Maya codices still in existence today, which presumably served as handbooks for Maya priests in matters of religion and mysticism, as well as mathematics and astronomy. In fact, it is the only written source on astronomy from pre-Spanish Central America. It is also the only one of these four codices that, despite water damage sustained during World War II, can actually still be viewed today in the treasury of the Saxon State Library (the other three Maya codices, which are now housed in Paris, Madrid, and Mexico City, are not accessible there). With 74 artistically illuminated pages made of amate (bark paper), this is the most elaborate of the Maya manuscripts; despite intensive research, it has not yet been fully understood in all its parts—but it is precisely this that gives it a special allure of the unknown.

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 codexÂŽs 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 39 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

Alternative Titles
Codex Dresden
Dresden Codex
Size / Format
78 pages / 20.5 × 9.0 cm
Origin
Mexico
Date
between 1300 and 1521
Epochs
Illustrations
74 full-page miniatures
Previous Owners
Johann Christian Götze (1692–1749)

Available facsimile editions:
Codex Dresdensis – Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA) – Mscr. Dresd. R 310 – SĂ€chsische Landesbibliothek – Staats- und UniversitĂ€tsbibliothek (Dresden, Germany)
Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA) – Graz, 1975

Codex Dresdensis – TGB Limited Editions – Mscr. Dresd. R 310 – SĂ€chsische Landesbibliothek – Staats- und UniversitĂ€tsbibliothek (Dresden, Germany)
TGB Limited Editions – Madrid, 2023
Limited Edition: 1739 copies
Facsimile Editions

#1 Codex Dresdensis

Publisher: Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA) – Graz, 1975
Binding: Folding book housed in a half-leather case. Commentary volume (135 pp.) on the history and early editions of the manuscript, also including 42 pages of illustrations. These feature the codex as it was printed in black and white by the VillacortaÂŽs in 1930, together with examples of the color reproductions of Ernst Forstmann and Lord E. K. Kingsborough. The codex and the commentary come packed together in a heavy cardboard box with a leather spline.
Commentary: 1 volume (142 pages) by Ferdinand Anders and Helmut Deckert
Language: German

The commentary volume comprises an introduction to the manuscript and its history as well as a retrospect of the early editions of the Codex Dresdensis, for example the 1930 black-and-white edition of Villacorta and the colored reproductions of Ernst Förstemann and Lord E. K. Kingsborough. It includes 39 black-and-white and 10 color plates.
Complete color reproduction of the original “Codex Dresdensis” at its original size. The facsimile aims to reproduce the original’s appearance, feel and physical characteristics as faithfully as possible. The binding may differ from the original’s present-day binding. The pages are represented on a larger white background.
Facsimile Copy Available!
Price Category: €€
(1,000€ - 3,000€)

#2 Mayan Dresden Codex

TGB Limited Editions – Madrid, 2023

Publisher: TGB Limited Editions – Madrid, 2023
Limited Edition: 1739 copies
Binding: The two facsimiles are presented in a handmade protective display case consisting of two transparent acrylic panels, each 2 cm thick, held together by four gold-plated screws. Separate hardcover commentary volume in codex form, with dust jacket and embossed lettering. Handmade methacrylate case, numbered 0001–1739, comprising two 2 cm thick plates held together by four gold-plated screws.
Commentary: 1 volume by Fran Nuño, Luis Montero Manglano, Alicia Vallina, and Juan Yanni
Languages: English, Spanish
Complete color reproduction of the original “Codex Dresdensis” at its original size. The facsimile aims to reproduce the original’s appearance, feel and physical characteristics as faithfully as possible. The binding may differ from the original’s present-day binding. The original is reproduced on 78 concertina-folded pages with an extended length of 3.56 m. A retouched and colored consulting facsimile of the same length is also included. Trimming removes some small details of the original. The two surviving fragments are reassembled into a coherent concertina-folded book.
Facsimile Copy Available!
Price Category: €
(under 1,000€)
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