patolli (FCbk8f18v-19r)

This iconographic example, featuring the Indigenous game called patolli, 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 keywords chosen by the team behind the Digital Florentine Codex. While the Nahuatl text uses “patoa” (a verb) to refer to this game, it does also give patolpetlatl to refer to the woven mat upon which the game was played, providing the root, patol- from the noun, patolli. This example shows an X-shaped playing field or board, with spaces marked off in black and white. Four black beans appear here as playing pieces; each one has a white dot in its center. In this example, two men face off, one on either side of the X. They sit on reed mat (petlatl, in the DFC keywording) seats (icpalli, in the DFC keywording) without backs. The man on the viewer’s left has both of his hands extended forward; perhaps he has just thrown the black beans. The man on the viewer's right points at the game or the other man with his right finger, and speech scrolls emerge from his mouth. Both men wear loincloths and white cloaks that have some shading that gives them a three-dimensionality (revealing European artistic influences). Because this book is about kings and lords, and given the clothing, gesturing, and speech, these are elite men.