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Codex Mendoza

Type Object Region Mexico Time c. 1535–1541

The Codex Mendoza is an Aztec-style painted manuscript commissioned in 1530s New Spain and completed around 1541, recording the history, tribute syst…

Timeline

  1. c. 1535–1540Mexico City · Mexico CityIn the 1530s, the colonial authorities of New Spain commissioned the codex to report on Mexica society to the Spanish king; indigenous painters and scribes recorded history, tribute, and daily life within the framework of the Aztec pictorial tradition.
  2. 1541Mexico City · Mexico CityThe codex was completed around 1541 and was originally planned to be shipped to Spain to be presented to Charles V, but it was seized in French waters and entered European collections, becoming one of the most complete colonial-period visual sources for studying the Aztec Empire.

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