itztli (Mdz27r)

itztli (Mdz27r)
Element from a Compound

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This element for the noun itztli (obsidian blade) has been carved from the compound sign for the place name, Itzmiquilpan (see below). This blade looks just like a tecpatl (flint knife) in its red and white version, divided by a diagonal line. The tip is red, which may symbolize blood.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Mendoza/Mendocino, Codex (Mdz)
Date of Manuscript: 

c. 1541, but by 1553 at the latest

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Mexico City

Syntax: 
noun(s)
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Blood (human/animal/plant)
Gifts, Offerings, Sacrifice
Stones, Rocks, Lapidary, Masonry
Technology (all types), plus Tools
Colors: 
red
white/neutral
Glyph or Iconographic Image: 
Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s): 

itztli, a sharp bladed instrument of obsidian, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/itztli

Additional Scholars' Interpretations: 

obsidian blade

Image Source: 

Codex Mendoza, folio 27 recto, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 64 of 188.

Image Source, Rights: 

The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, hold the original manuscript, the MS. Arch. Selden. A. 1. This image is published here under the UK Creative Commons, “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License” (CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0).

See Also: 

Itzmiquilpan (Mdz27r)