Artist:Tlaxcalan
Medium: Ink on laid paper with partial watermark (of an image within a circle), upper center of sheet
Geograhical Locations:
Dates:ca. 1575
Dimensions: 17 x 12 1/4 in. (43.2 x 31.1 cm) frame: 29 1/2 x 23 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (74.9 x 59.7 x 4.4 cm)
Collections:
Exhibitions:
Accession Number: 37.361
Image: 37.361_SL1.jpg,
Catalogue Description: A sheet of paper with a pictorial genealogy recorded in multicolored inks. The focal point of the genealogy is Juan Tepetzin, who is dressed in the dark cloak in the bottom center of the document. His forebears, who are depicted above him, are members of the native elite and they are wearing elegant cloaks and sandals and holding bouquets favored by the nobility. Tepetzin's ancestor Yxtletletzin is sheltered within a palace. The document is identified as being from Tlaxcala for a few reasons: the wooden stools on which Tepetzin's male relatives sit and the brick-like upper story of the palace are typical Tlaxcalan works, and similar bouquets and red-netted cloaks are found in the Lienzo of Tlaxcala, a narrative painting of Tlaxcala's Conquest-era history. In this document, two rectangles (one with five plants) were added after the genealogy was painted. These rectangles denote agricultural fields and indicate with the Nahuatl text that Juan Tepetzin took over some abandoned lands. The genealogy therefore relates to a land transfer.