A unique pre-Columbian manuscript and the mystery behind its colors

[Judi Lynn]

OCTOBER 22, 2020

by Università di Bologna



The Nahuan (i.e. "Aztec" ) divinatory manuscript, also known as Codex Cospi, represents a rare example of a pre-Columbian "book". Credit: Luca Sgamellotti

The Codex Cospi is one of the few Aztec 'books' in the world and it is kept at Bologna University Library. A new research project will investigate with unprecedented detail the painting techniques and tools with which it was made.

There are very few pre-Columbian manuscripts in the world; the Codex Cospi is one of them. These days, this manuscript is being analyzed at Bologna University Library in collaboration with Palazzo Poggi Museum (University Museum System). Using cutting-edge non-invasive techniques, researchers will try to figure out the composition of the bright colors with which the codex was embellished between the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th.

Carisbo Foundation provided the funding (Art and Culture grant) to the Department of History, Cultures, and Civilization of the University of Bologna. Thanks to this funding, these analyses will be carried out exploiting the MOLAB platform.

"We will employ fluorescence and hyperspectral imaging techniques to map the distribution of compositional material (both organic and inorganic) on every page of the manuscript," says Davide Domenici, Professor at the University of Bologna and head of the project. "The level of detail these techniques are able to provide is unprecedented and will shed new light on the pictorial and technological practices developed by pre-Columbian artists."

More:
https://phys.org/news/2020-10-unique-pre-columbian-manuscript-mystery.html