Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages cover image

Who Arted: Weekly Art History for All Ages

The Codex Borgia

Apr 25, 2025
10:44

The Codex Borgia is a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican manuscript, a 36-foot folded document made of animal hide, dating from the 13th to early 16th centuries. Created by Indigenous peoples, likely in central Mexico, it serves as a religious and divinatory almanac used by priests. Filled with intricate depictions of deities like Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl, and Tlaloc, it illustrates the 260-day tonalpohualli ritual calendar. Part of the “Borgia Group,” it survived the Spanish conquest and is now housed in the Vatican Apostolic Library. The codex offers invaluable insight into pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican beliefs, cosmology, and rituals, showcasing complex iconography and artistic skill. It provides crucial information for understanding the history, culture, and religion of ancient Mexican civilizations.

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