tlacuilolcuahuitl (FCbk11f115r)

This iconographic example, featuring a rosewood tree and wooden plank (tlacuilolcuahuitl), 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 in the Digital Florentine Codex. There is no gloss, per se. This example shows a frontal view of a tree with a leader and two branches, all of which have large green leaves. To the viewer’s right of the tree is a rectangular piece of wood, brown with curving black lines that almost look like volutes, highlighting the grain. The text describes the wood as having the look of having been painted or having writing on it. The image itself is practically a compound hieroglyph with two elements, but the wood and the tree are both cuahuitl. Still, the plank has what appears to be writing or painting on it (tlacuilolli). Perhaps this contains a remnant of the earlier hieroglyphic writing system. The tree stands in a landscape setting. This setting, along with the shading that provides a three-dimensionality to the scene, reveal European artistic influence.