The Pictorial Books of the Aztecs
A screenfold manuscript on amatl (bark paper), the Codex Borbonicus is a divinatory almanac (tonalamatl/day book) used to divine the future for both practical and ritual purposes. Each page represents a thirteen-day “week” in a 260 day calendar; the ruling deities and symbols associated with the week are prominently displayed. In the boxes along the edge of each page, the named and numbered days (1 to 13 dots) of the week are accompanied by their governing supernaturals (birds and deities). A masterpiece of Aztec style, the Borbonicus is believed to have been made after the arrival of the Spanish. Note the Spanish words identifying the pictorial text of numbered days.
Loan courtesy of Ellen T. Baird.