Map of Santiago Quanepopohualco, Xomolco, San Martin Quatzotzoco, Hidalgo, 1532 (2021 copy)
akwong
Wed, 12/01/2021 – 20:12
Signed by Manuel Juárez Mexicatl, Pasqual Ignacio López, and Antonio de Ante
Facsimile by Tlaoli Ramírez Téllez
Blended media, acrylic, ink and watercolor on paper
Los Angeles County Museum of Artwork
EX.8900.26
This facsimile map gives an evocative instance of the Mesoamerican cartographic custom, during which place is rendered inextricable from the histories lived inside it. We see a panorama, maybe within the modern-day state of Morelos, Mexico, with a walled church at its middle and homes nestled all through. Heralds and archers traverse footpaths, wending their approach via hills and rivers painted in deep blue hues. Although a lot of it stays enigmatic, the map tells a narrative of the evangelization of this area, uniting time and house in a single picture. Among the many names inscribed on this map is that of Indigenous tlacuilco (scribe) Manuel Juárez Mexicatl.