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Show XXX , p A I N T I N G s. able us to diflingni{h pcrfon , it is not fimply di ffic ult, but totally impoflibl.e to comprehend it 6gnification. If Dr .. Ro bertfon ~ had ~tl ng with it pul>lilhcd the other fcv n copies [cut hu 1 from V1cn n~l , probably the meaning of them all might have been unclerfl:ood. IV. The collection of ign nza. T his very lcamed Mexican having been extremely attacllcd to the fl:udy of antiquity, colkCI.cd _a h rgc munber of fdetl: ancient paintin gs, pnrt of which h purchatd at a great expencc, and part were I ·ft him in legacy by the very ~ob c T.n ~ ian D. J ua.u d' Alba Ixtl ilxochi tl, who inherited them from the k111gs oJ 1 c:-: cuco, hi ancd1:or . T ho[e repre[entations of the lVIexi an ce ntury, a11J. the ll ibration or the Aztccas j and thofc portrait of the ]\ k x ic.Hl ki I g!;, which Gemelli publi!hed in his 'tour· qj' tbe 11/or/d, arc c pies o the paintings belonging to S tGilCI1Z<1, who was living in M xico when Gt..' mtlli land d there (a). 'fh J.igme of the century, an I the M<. xican yeru·, is the tame in cffeC.t with that publi fhc i a c ntury b foro iA Italy by Vah1des, in hi C!Jrijlian l?!Jetorick. i ~~ u e n za, aft ~ r having made ufe of the ahove mentioned p:1intings in 11is learn d vtorks, left them <lt his death to the colkge of St. P.:cer and St. Paul of rhc J efuits of Mexico; together with his fektl: library, and excellent nu thematical inH:rument ; where we faw and confultcd in the ye~l r I 7 59 , fome volumes of fuch paintings, containing chiefly the pen<ll h ws of the Mcx ic~ms . ·(a) fJr. Robcrtfon fays, that the painting of the m:g rat ion of the Mex ica ns, or A7. · c c ~ ·, was gil' en to Gemelli t,y D. hri fioval GuaJ alax ar:t; ltut in th ar he c.:o n tr :~J i t' l ~ U cmrl li lnmfclf, who profd fc, he w :~s inch:bw l to Sig- uenw fM all the Mexican antiCj uiti '5 that ar copieJ in his re lation. Ftom Guadalaxa ra he had only the cha rt of the Mcxi nn ·lake. " HLP :~:; nnw /' :~ d J s R o u ~ rtlo n, "it :tppca rs to be a g-enerally m.:c iv ed opinion, fuppon ed on I kn ow •· not what evidence, thttt C~ rrc ri never went out of lt:tl y, and th at his f: tmou ~ 'I ou r of the " \Vot ld w:ts th e narrative of Jk"l. it:ous travels, I ha ve been uuwi ll ing to ma ke any met ti on of '' th cfe pi ''turcs." lf we did no li l'c in the cightcl.: t\ tlt et·n tury , in whi ch the moO: r.'( t r:t r:t,.. n nt ft ntimcnts have b ·en :tduptcd, I !houlcl be nOon ifhcd that fuch an opi ni on wns generally r •·civcJ . \Vho "ttl poflibly in H!iine, tlcat any m:tn who was uever at lVIcxico fl totdd hav been rapablc of ~lv in l; the tnollt·ircum{l:.tntial account of the moll minute cv cnts of tlt:tt time, f th · pcdims th en livi ng, of their tank <tnd em ployments, of all the monafi eri es of ·l\1ex il'o and ot her citie , of the numbl' r of their religious, of the alt ars of every ch urch; nnJ ot her p:trti .ula:s n e ~ c r before publiOtctl? On the contrary, we mufl: Jccl:trc, iu ju fl:icc to th e me rit of t hts ltaiJ,,n, that we.: h'lVc found no trav ell l' r more acc urate and ex act in relating all that he fdw hil\l fciJ , or learned by i n fo nn ~ti u n from others. V. The P' A I N T I N G s. V. The colleCtion of Doturini. This valuable colleCtion of Mexican antiquities, feized upon formerly, and taken from that learned and ·induftrious gentleman by the jealous government of Mexico, v.r~1s prefervcd chiefly in the archives of the viceroy. We :Ctw iome of thefe P'linting , reprefenting fome eve11ts of the conquefl:, and fomc fine por traits of the kings o£ Mexico. In 1770, were publifhccl in Mexico, along with the letters of .Cortes, the figure of the Mexican year, and thirty-two copies of paintings of tributes, which were paid by different cities to the crown of Mexico, taken from the mufeum of l3oturini. Thofe of the tributes are the f.1me with Mendofa's, publi {hcJ by Purcbas and Thevenot, but they arc better executed, and have the figures of the tribntary cities, which :ue entirely wanting in thofe of Purchas and Thevcnot; but fiill fix copi es of t11ofe reprefenting the tributes are wanting, and there arc a thonGwd blun-· ders in the int rpr tations, ariGng from total ignorance of antiqui ty, and the Mexican langu~1ge. So mu h is nece8:u·y to be obfcrvcc.l, that they who fcc that ~or.k p~blifhed in Mexico, under a r fpeetab~e 11ame, may not be led into err<:HS. A D-V·E R· . XXXl rf |