MEDIA INFORMATION

 
 
 
COLLECTION NAME:
JCB Archive of Early American Images
Record
Accession number:
30891
Record number:
30891-1
JCB call number:
Codex Ind 42 /3-SIZE
Image title:
[Boban Aztec Calendar Wheel]
Place image published:
[Tezcuco?]
Image date:
[ca. 1530]
Image function:
calendar
Technique:
manuscript
Image dimension height:
35 cm.
Image dimension width:
38.1 cm.
Page dimension height:
35 cm.
Page dimension width:
38.1 cm.
Materials medium:
ink, colors
Materials support:
amatl or maguey fiber
Languages:
Nahuatl
Description:
Symbolic representation of the months and day of the Aztec year with explanatory text in Nahuatl language transcribed into European script. At top left of the interior circle is a depiction of Hernando decor [Hernán Cortés?] wearing a black Spanish hat seated on a blue circle [the Lake of Mexico?]. At top right is Don Antonio Pimentel [son of Ixtlilxochitl, an ally of Cortes, and last native king of Texcoco] seated on a representation of a mountain [the Sierras of Acolhuan]. In the middle is an image of Nezahualcoyotl [the king of Acolhuan], and Itzcoatl [his ally, the Aztec emperor] who were allies in the mid-fifteenth century. Each is enthroned with his symbol in front of him. At bottom, are depictions of ancient Chichimecas, founders of the Texcoco empire, or native Americans, who sit before a sacrificial fire which rises to the sun (see facsimile, 30891-2).
notes:
The Boban Calendar, named after Eugène Boban, a French archeologist and collector, was brought to general attention in 1866 when Colonel Doutrelaine published a reproduction and explanation of the calendar in Archives de la commission scientifique de Mexique, Paris, 1866-1867, vol. 3, p. 120-133. Because of deterioration, the reproduction made in 1866 shows much greater detail than the original. The names of the months are written in Nahuatl (but with Castilian characters); the months are given different symbols than are usually present on other Aztec calendars.
Time Period:
1492-1600
References:
Archives de la commission scientifique de Mexique, Paris, 1866-1867, vol. 3, p. 120-133; Robertson, D. Mexican manuscript painting, p. 146-149, fig. 51
Provenance/Donor:
Acquired in 1950.
Owner and copyright:
©John Carter Brown Library, Box 1894, Brown University, Providence, R.I. 02912
Commentary:
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geographic area:
Spanish America
Subject Area:
Artifacts, industry, and human activities
Subject Area:
Indigenous peoples
Subject headings:
Aztec calendar

[Boban Aztec Calendar Wheel]

     
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[Boban Aztec Calendar Wheel]