tlapancalli (FCbk11f242r)

This iconographic example, featuring a black and white sketch of a house with a terrace (tlapancalli), 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 what appears to be a tall house, possibly two stories, given the window above the front door. Added to that is perhaps a terrace with a half wall on the roof. Diagonal support beams on right and left seem to support the added structure on the roof. These beams are round and protrude. The building has dark and light alternating paving stones in front, along with a small, smooth patio for accessing the front door. The door may be open; if so, the interior is dark. This is true, too, of the window. The companion text refers to this house as open and cold, which could be a reference to these openings or a comment on the rooftop terrace. The door and window appear to be reinforced with stones surrounding their openings. The facade of the house appears to be covered with adobe bricks or rectangular stones, but the explanatory text refers to a wooden covering. At the very base there appears to be some mosaic of smaller stones. Shading in front of the house and inside the openings adds a three-dimensionality to the sketch, something probably learned from colonial art teachers.