Codex Ixtlilxochitl in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, May 2018

Codex Ixtlilxochitl, Folios 105 (verso) and 106 (recto)
A.D. 1582


Object Details

Author: Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl (Nahua-Spanish, ca. 1578–1650)

Date: A.D. 1582

Geography: Mexico, Tetzcoco

Culture: Nahua-Spanish

Medium: Paper, pigment

Dimensions: (Closed) H. 12 3/16 × W. 8 1/4 in. (31 × 21 cm)

Classification: Paper-Documents

Credit Line: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France (Ms. Mex. 65-71)


These folios depict the Tetzcocan ruler Nezahualcoyotl (Fasting Coyote, 1402–1472) as an armed warrior charging into battle. Tetzcoco was one of the three central Mexican city-states that made up the Triple Alliance, the political union at the heart of the Aztec Empire. Clutching his macuahuitl, an obsidian-edged weapon, the ruler carries a huehuetl drum on his back and wears gold arm and leg bands, a gold eagle lip plug, a feather garment, and a large round feather shield. The painter utilized European modeling and proportion as well as gold leaf, but the costume testifies to the artist’s knowledge of traditional indigenous royal and military attire.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/722119