tecciztli (TK21r)
This example of iconography shows a tribute cloth with the elaborate design of a cross-section of what we presume is a conch shell (tecciztli). The shell is white with a green tie and a red background. A gold border goes around the red rectangle that comprises the cloth. It would appear that this textile is meant to capture a necklace with a shell pendant. The design may partly be made from feathers, as the gloss refers to the cape or blanket of plumes.
Stephanie Wood
las mantas de pluma
Stephanie Wood
c. 1556
Stephanie Wood
shells, conchas, caracoles, plumas, mantas, tributos, collares, necklaces, pendants, tecciz
tecciz(tli), conch shell from the sea, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tecciztli
The Codex Kingsborough, also known as the Códice de Tepetlaoztoc, and the Memorial de los indios de Tepetlaoztoc, is not on display. It was transferred from the British Library and is now held by the British Museum. It is shared on line at, https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Am2006-Drg-13964. Image 40. In Perla Valle's pagination of 1992, this is f. 21, lam. A (i.e. f. 21r.).
©The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
