Codex Zouche-Nuttall, Pages 86 and 85

1350 CE (Reverse); 1450 CE (Obverse)
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Painted on both sides, at different times and by different artists, this screenfold manuscript is made of sixteen strips of deerskin that were glued together and painted with brilliant colors, including red cochineal, Maya blue (indigo and palygorskite, a type of clay), and yellow orpiment. Read from right to left, it traces the genealogy of Mixtec nobility to the tenth century. The codex depicts Lord Eight Deer Jaguar Claw receiving a gift from the Sun God, accompanied by Lord Four Jaguar, all identified by name glyphs. Luxuriously dressed, they sit on jaguar-pelt thrones, perform rituals atop temples, journey over water in canoes, and interact in an I-shaped ballcourt.



Este manuscrito pintado de ambos lados, en distintos momentos y por distintos artistas está compuesto por dieciséis bandas de cuero de venado que fueron pegadas, preparadas con yeso y pintadas con colores intensos que incluían al rojo cochinilla, el Azul Maya (índigo con un palygorskita, un tipo de arcilla) y oropimente amarillo. Además, traza la genealogía de la nobleza mixteca desde el siglo X hasta el siglo XV. Leído de derecha a izquierda, el códex presenta al Señor 8 Venado recibiendo un obsequio del Dios del Sol, acompañado por el Señor Cuatro Jaguar, identificados por inscripciones de glifos. Lujosamente vestidos, están sentados en un trono con piel de jaguar, realizan rituales en la cima de los templos, navegan en canoas e interactúan en una cancha de juego de pelota en forma de "I".

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Codex Zouche-Nuttall, Pages 86 and 85
  • Date: 1350 CE (Reverse); 1450 CE (Obverse)
  • Geography: Mexico, Western Oaxaca
  • Culture: Mixtec (Ñudzavui)
  • Medium: Deerskin, gesso, pigment
  • Dimensions: Closed: 7 1/2 in. × 9 1/4 in. (19 × 23.5 cm)
    Open: 37 ft. 4 13/16 in. (11.4 m)
  • Classification: Hide-Documents
  • Credit Line: British Museum, London (MSS 39671)
  • Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing