tlatlilania (FCbk11f219v)

This iconographic example, featuring an example of making black lines on something (or writing) (tlatlilania), 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 probable Nahua man, probably a tlacuilo, sitting on a stool, holding a large piece of paper and a writing or painting implement, and intently looking at what he is doing (poised to write or paint). Curiously, the tool lacks a point or a brush on the tip. The man is dressed in a collared, belted tunic that is shaded, giving it three-dimensionality. On the floor next to the man is a bowl or pot of black paint (according to the text) presumably to be applied to the paper (or possibly canvas). The contextualizing image shows the processing of the black pigment. A hieroglyph of water appears below that larger pot, and smoke curls upward from the larger pot, very reminiscent of popoca and poctli (smoke) glyphs.