Codex Mexicanus caractere hieroglyphi

Codex Laud, p. 19

Folio 9D. Speckles of paint appear rather heavily across this page as if a brush had been shaken too near it. NOTE: From about 4 cms. over Folio 10 D. right through Folio 2 D. the whole surface of the Codex is noticeably mo re grey, as if once exhibited. These pages form a unified series dedicated to Mictlantecuhtli. They have a certain horrific fascination for the European mind and so may well have been selected for exhibition in the past. The evidence points to Folio 10 D. having been bent over so that its edge was stained and the Frontal side sustained a crack. It is not impossible that this series might have been exposed in a temple and become stained by incense fumes of the kind which moved Bernal Diaz to remark on the filthiness of these abodes of the Devil. But this seems the less likely explanation. Folio 10 D. Apart from the thin grey dust on the left side, there is a brown spot on this page which appears to have been a splash of paint. It has been reproduced as an off print on Folio 11 D. Folio 11 D. A pair of holes across the joint between folios 11 D and 12 D have been carefully plugged with the white plaster used as the painting surface of the Codex. Folio 12 D. This page comes next to a joint between skins. Its surface has dried quickly when the paste was first spread over it, and there are heavy tool marks produced when smoothing the surface. There are some black marks due to rubbing the surface after it was completed. Folio 13D. The joint traversing this page is fully covered by the lime surface. There is some wear along the edges. Folio 14 D. A crack through the lime coating on this page is due to differential contraction between the leather and the paste. It is probably due too rapid drying.