ocelotl (Mdz47r)

ocelotl (Mdz47r)
Iconography

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This colorful iconographic example shows a jaguar (ocelotl) skin laid out flat with the head upward and the tail down low in the frame. The skin is orange or terracotta-colored, with a white belly, and black spots. Its head is looking toward the viewer's left. Its mouth is slightly open, showing a mouthful of teeth.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

The gloss uses "tigre" (tiger in Spanish) to label this animal skin. A Nahua glossator would probably not call it a tiger, so this suggests a European interpretation. We have chosen to label this ocelotl, given that this was a common tribute item.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss Image: 
Gloss Diplomatic Transcription: 

veinte pieles de
tigre

Gloss Analysis, 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: 
Mouth/Beak Open
Teeth Protruding/Noticeable
Leather, hides
Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.
Colors: 
black
orange/terracotta
tan
Shapes and Perspectives: 
facing left
bird's eye view
spotted or mottled
Keywords: 

pieles, animales, jaguares, manchada

Glyph or Iconographic Image: 
Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s): 

ocelo(tl), jaguar, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/ocelotl

Image Source: 

Codex Mendoza, folio 47 recto, https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/2fea788e-2aa2-4f08-b6d9-648c00..., image 104 of 188.

Image Source, Rights: 

Original manuscript is held by the Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford, MS. Arch. Selden. A. 1; used here with the UK Creative Commons, “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License” (CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0)

See Also: 

Ocelotl (MH648r)

Ocelotl (MH483v)

Ocelotl (MH500r)