Xiuhtecuhtli (TR8r)

Xiuhtecuhtli (TR8r)
Iconography

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This iconographic example shows a representation of the divine force or deity of fire, Xiuhtecuhtli. He is shown in profile, looking to the viewer's right. He wears a crown or diadem (xiuhhuitzolli) of turquoise blue with a red (perhaps leather) tie. The diadem is the symbol for tecuhtli (lord). He also has green feathers and other adornments.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

Eloise Quiñones Keber identifies Xiuhtecuhtli as the "Turquoise Lord" and a "fire god." {See: Codex Telleriano-Remensis, 1995, 141.] Mutsumi Izeki identifies fire and the color red as an "extended sense" of xihuitl as exemplified in Xiuhtecuhtli, a divine force often called the "god of fire," the "god of year," and the "god of turquoise." [See: Conceptualization of 'Xihuitl,' 2008, 34–35.]

Gloss Image: 
Date of Manuscript: 

ca. 1550–1563

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Mexico City

Semantic Categories: 
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Shapes and Perspectives: 
Keywords: 

deities, deidades, fire, fuego, turquoise, turquesa, xiuhpohualli, año, turquesa, xihuitl, feathers, plumas

Museum & Rare Book Comparisons: 
Museum/Rare Book Notes: 

Xiuhtecuhtli. Museo del Templo Mayor. Photograph by Robert Hasektt, 15 February 2023.

Glyph or Iconographic Image: 
Relevant Nahuatl Dictionary Word(s): 

Xiuhtecuhtli, deity, the "old, old" god of fire, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xiuhtecuhtli
xihui(tl(, turquoise, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/xihuitl-0
tecuh(tli), a lord, an important nobleman, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/tecuhtli

Image Source: 

Telleriano-Remensis Codex, folio 8 recto, MS Mexicain 385, Gallica digital collection, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b8458267s/f41.item.zoom

Image Source, Rights: 

The non-commercial reuse of images from the Bibliothèque nationale de France is free as long as the user is in compliance with the legislation in force and provides the citation: “Source gallica.bnf.fr / Bibliothèque nationale de France” or “Source gallica.bnf.fr / BnF.”

Historical Contextualizing Image: