Detail View: JCB Archive of Early American Images: The Great Temple of Mexico
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Accession number:
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07324b
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Record number:
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07324b-3
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JCB call number:
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B725 H564g
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Image title:
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The Great Temple of Mexico
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Place image published:
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[London]
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Image publisher:
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[Jeremiah Batley]
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Image date:
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[1725]
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Image function:
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fold-out plate; vol. 2, following p. 372
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Technique:
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engraving
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Image dimension height:
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16.3 cm. (platemark)
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Image dimension width:
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21.5 cm. (platemark)
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Page dimension height:
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19.2 cm.
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Page dimension width:
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23.3 cm.
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Materials medium:
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ink
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Materials support:
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paper
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Languages:
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English
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Description:
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Bird's-eye view of the main temple [the Templo mayor] of Tenochtitlán or present-day Mexico City. The temple is encircled by a wall with serpents or snakes carved on it, and there are two sanctuaries on the top before which two priests stand. Includes view of the settlement with dwellings and fortifications, as well as a view of the lake beyond it.
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Source creator:
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Herrera y Tordesillas, Antonio de, d. 1625
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Source Title:
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[Historia general de los hechos de los castellanos. English] The general history of the vast continent and islands of America, commonly call'd the West-Indies ... Vol. II
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Source place of publication:
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London
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Source publisher:
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Printed for Jer. Batley at the Dove in Pater-noster-row
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Source date:
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M.DCC.XXV. [1725]
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notes:
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The great temple at Tenochtitlan was surmounted by two sanctuaries--the one on the left dedicated to Tlaloc, the one on the right to Huitzilopochtli. Huitzilopochtli, whose name means "Blue hummingbird on the left," was the Aztec god of the sun and war. The turquoise or fire serpent (xiuhcoatl) was his mystical weapon. Tlaloc, the god of rain and agriculture, was of pre-Aztec, or Toltec, origin. A coatepantli or wall made of sculpted serpents often surrounds Aztec temples. The tzompantli would hold the skulls of sacrificial victims. This image is similar to the one printed in Antonio de Solís, Histoire de la conquête du Mexique, Paris, 1691.
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Time Period:
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1701-1750
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Provenance/Donor:
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Acquired circa 1916.
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Owner and copyright:
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©John Carter Brown Library, Box 1894, Brown University, Providence, R.I. 02912
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geographic area:
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Spanish America
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Subject Area:
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Geography, maps, city views and plans
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Subject Area:
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Indigenous peoples
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Subject headings:
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Aztec architecture
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Subject headings:
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Aztecs--Religion
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Subject headings:
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Mexico City (Mexico)--Description and travel
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