zayolin (FCbk11fX107v)

This iconographic example, featuring a fly (zayolin), 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 profile view of a fly facing toward the viewer’s left. It has two visible wings and three visible legs. Perhaps one leg goes forward in front of the face, which has one visible eye. On the top of the head of the zayolin, six to eight hairs stand up straight. The body has short lines that suggest it is segmented or striped. The head, body, and wings are all washed with a dusty rose or brownish-red color. The landscape setting that is visible in the contextualizing image shows clear European artistic influence, as do the efforts to make the flies three dimensional.