ayolhuaztli (FCbk11f226v)

ayolhuaztli (FCbk11f226v)
Iconography

Glyph or Iconographic Image Description: 

This iconographic example, featuring a water well (ayolhuaztli), 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 an oval shape half filled with water. This seems to be an elevation view rather than a bird’s eye view, perhaps with the intention of showing or even emphasizing depth. The air above the water (inside the oval) may also be there to suggest that this water is underground, not on the surface. The water is glyph-like with its wavy lines and swirls. This well is set in a landscape setting, which shows European artistic influence.

Description, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Added Analysis: 

This is the first well to enter this digital collection (as of January 2026), but it is conceivable that there could be hieroglyphs for ayolhuaztli. This oval shape and its contents could well be a hieroglyph.

Added Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Gloss or Text Image: 
Gloss/Text Diplomatic Transcription: 

Aiolvaztli

Gloss/Text Normalization: 

ayolhuaztli

Gloss/Text Analysis, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Source Manuscript: 
Florentine/Florentinus, Codex (FC)
Date of Manuscript: 

1577

Creator's Location (and place coverage): 

Mexico City

Syntax: 
noun(s)
visual movement
Cultural Content & Iconography: 
Gender (male)
Landscape Features
Movement
Technology (all types), plus Tools
Water
Cultural Content, Credit: 

Jeff Haskett-Wood

Colors: 
black & white drawing (no color)
Shapes and Perspectives: 
frontal view
oval (see also leaf shaped)
shading and parallel line hatching
spiraling, swirling, coiling, curling
three-dimensionality
Other Cultural Influences: 
Spanish/European
Keywords: 

pozos, agua, remolino, remolinos, movimiento

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

ayolhuaz(tli), a well, https://nahuatl.wired-humanities.org/content/ayolhuaztli

Glyph/Icon Name, Spanish Translation: 

el pozo

Spanish Translation, Credit: 

Stephanie Wood

Image Source: 

Available at Digital Florentine Codex/Códice Florentino Digital, edited by Kim N. Richter and Alicia Maria Houtrouw, "Book 11: Earthly Things", fol. 226v, Getty Research Institute, 2023. https://florentinecodex.getty.edu/en/book/11/folio/226v/images/0 Accessed 16 November 2025.

Image Source, Rights: 

Images of the digitized Florentine Codex are made available under the following Creative Commons license: CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International). For print-publication quality photos, please contact the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana ([email protected]). The Library of Congress has also published this manuscript, using the images of the World Digital Library copy. “The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse.”

Orthography: 
"v" for u, uh, or hu
Historical Contextualizing Image: 
See Also: 

atezcatl (Mdz42r)