tetlahuehuetzquiti (FCbk10f26v)

This iconographic example, featuring a buffoon (tetlahuehuetzquiti), apparently engaged in entertaining women or making them laugh (tetlahuehuetzquitia, which is the verb that actually appears in the text), is included in this digital collection for the purpose of making comparisons with related hieroglyphs. The term selected for this example comes from the text near the image on the previous page of the Digital Florentine Codex. There is no gloss, per se. This example shows a fully dressed man standing in a ¾ view, with his head in profile, facing two women, seated on the left. One woman watches the buffoon, while the other woman lends into the other’s lap. The buffoon wears a white cotton, long sleeve shirt and trousers, adopted from European clothing styles. But he has a Nahua cloak (tilmatli) of a darker color, which comes under his left arm, and then above his right shoulder, where it is tied. He also wears a bowler hat. These styles and the use of shading for three-dimensionality show European cultural influence. The man’s performance includes showing objects to the women. These are painted red and yellow. They may be an imacehualli (feather fan for dancing) and possibly a coxolitli (pheasant) feather fan, along with some unidentified objects.