Page from a copy of an Aztec Herbal 1626
Watercolour and bodycolour over black chalk | 45.0 x 62.9 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 927905
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A watercolour of seven medicinal plants with Nahuatl names and Latin inscription below. The plants are from the left: a. Tetzmitl; b. Tequixquicacatl; c. Azcapan yxhua tlahcolphatli; d.Huihuitz yocochizxihuitl; e. Cochizxihuitl; f. Macayelli. Page of an Italian copy of an Aztec Herbal, showing remedies for swollen eyes, sleeplessness and ear-ache, with plants including a tree stonecrop, a salt-grass, a mimosa and (second from the right) a smilax.The Aztec Herbal from which this page is copied was made in Mexico in around 1550 for Francisco de Mendoza, son of Antonio de Mendoza, viceroy of New Spain. Intended for Philip II of Spain, it found its way to Rome where this copy was made in 1627 for the scientific society known as the 'Academy of the Lynxes'.
Provenance
Acquired by George III in 1762
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Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Watercolour and bodycolour over black chalk
Measurements
45.0 x 62.9 cm (sheet of paper)
Other number(s)
RL 27905Alternative title(s)
Swelling eyes; loss of sleep; repulsion of drowsiness; purulence of the ears; deafness or obstruction of the ears.