caballo (FCbk12fir)

This iconographic example features a black and white sketch of three horses (each one often referred to as a caballo or a cahuayo, using or modifying the word from Spanish, when not, at very first being, referred to as deer/mazatl). These horses are included in this digital collection for the purpose of making comparisons with related hieroglyphs. There is no gloss, per se, and no related text nearby. This example shows three horses that probably recently came off one or more Spanish ships in the harbor at the gulf at the time of the invasion (as it was remembered later). The horses have saddles and bridles. The two on the right are in profile view, while the one on the left is shown in a ¾ view. The one on the left has a front leg raised as though it is in motion. They all have shading in the form of cross-hatching, a learned European artistic style. The landscape setting is also rooted in those foreign influences. Nahuas typically drew horses in some detail, apparently very interested in them, given that they were new. Nahuas would eventually petition the viceregal government in the sixteenth century for permission to ride horses.