coyolli (FCbk9f8r)

coyolli (FCbk9f8r)
Iconography

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description:

This iconographic example, featuring a small jingle-type bell (coyolli), is included in this digital collection for the purpose of making potential comparisons with related hieroglyphs. The term selected for this example comes from the nearby text in the Digital Florentine Codex. There is no gloss, per se. This example shows considerable detail of the small gold (teocuitlatl) bell that has a rounded opening at the bottom for the sound to escape from the clapper (not shown), which is inside the chamber. The bell has a loop at the top, whether for holding onto or for attaching it to clothing or a string. Horizontal lines across the bell alternate with dots. This bell is part of a group of merchant’s wares, as the text explains and the contextualizing image shows.

Description, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis:

One similar bell in this collection has sound scrolls emerging from the bottom, delightfully making the ringing sound visual. The collection has examples of both copper bells and golden bells, and some have no coloring. One example below is of a jingle skirt central-Mexican style. It is delightful to know that jingle skirts are part of a shared heritage across what is now called North America.

Added Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image:

Gloss Diplomatic Transcription:

coiolli

Gloss Normalization:

coyolli

Gloss Analysis, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript:

Florentine/Florentinus, Codex (FC)

Date of Manuscript:

1577

Creator's Location (and place coverage):

Mexico City

Syntax:

noun(s)

Cultural Content & Iconography:

Markets, Commerce, Economy

Metals, Minerals, Mining

Cultural Content, Credit:

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors:

yellow or golden

Shapes and Perspectives:

bell-shaped (upright)

dotted, granular, textured

frontal view

Keywords:

campanas, campanillas, pinjantes, oro, música, amarillo

Glyph or Iconographic Image:

Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s):

coyol(li), a small, jingle-type bell, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/coyolli

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation:

la campanilla

Spanish Translation, Credit:

Stephanie Wood

Image Source:

Available at Digital Florentine Codex/Códice Florentino Digital, edited by Kim N. Richter and Alicia Maria Houtrouw, "Book 9: The Merchants", fol. 8r, Getty Research Institute, 2023. https://florentinecodex.getty.edu/en/book/9/folio/8r/images/0 Accessed 27 August 2025.

Image Source, Rights:

Images of the digitized Florentine Codex are made available under the following Creative Commons license: CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International). For print-publication quality photos, please contact the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana ([email protected]). The Library of Congress has also published this manuscript, using the images of the World Digital Library copy. “The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse.”

Historical Contextualizing Image: