netlauhtilli (FCbk8f43r)

This iconographic example, featuring gifts (netlauhtilli) given by a ruler to an impoverished couple, is included in this digital collection for the purpose of making potential comparisons with related hieroglyphs. The term selected for this example comes from the keywords chosen by the team behind the Digital Florentine Codex and the accompanying text in Nahuatl. This example shows a ruler (tlatoani, or tlahtoani), in front of his palace, providing gifts to a couple (man and woman) in need. The generous gifts include an elaborate skirt (cueitl, or perhaps tlatlapalcueitl, or tlamachcueitl/tlahmachcueitl), a decorated blouse or tunic (huipilli), a plain cloth (perhaps ayatl), a loincloth (maxtlatl), and two baskets of food, one being perhaps amaranth (huauhtli) and the other containing maize kernels (tlaolli). Many of the fabrics have gray shading that gives them a three-dimensionality, showing European stylistic influences.