coatl (MH490r)

coatl (MH490r)
Element from a Compound

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This element for a serpent (coatl) has been carved from the compound personal name Mixcoatl. The serpent has the shape of a coil. Its head is in profile, looking to the viewer's right. Its body has spots, and there may be a rattle on its tail.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

This coil is somewhat unusual for serpents in the Matrícula de Huexotzinco and perhaps for coatl glyphs in most codices. The spiral may represent an emphasis on the swirling nature of cloud serpents.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Date of Manuscript: 

1560

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Huejotzinco, Puebla

Semantic Categories: 
calendrics
day name
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Animals, incl. Birds, Bugs, Insects, Reptiles, etc.
Time, Calendar, Frequency
Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
emphasis/exaggeration (relative, intentional)
spiraling, swirling, coiling, curling
Keywords: 

snakes, serpents, serpientes, víboras, cohuatl

Glyph or Iconographic Image: 
Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

la serpiente

Image Source: 

Matrícula de Huexotzinco, folio 485v, World Digital Library, https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_15282/?sp=61&st=image.

Image Source, Rights: 

This manuscript is hosted by the Library of Congress and the World Digital Library; used here with the Creative Commons, “Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License” (CC-BY-NC-SAq 3.0).

See Also: 

Mixcoatl (MH490r)