CONTRIBUTIONS
FROM THE
MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN
HEYE FOUNDATION
VOLUME VI
TURQUOIS MOSAIC ART
IN ANCIENT MEXICO
[Illustration: PL. I
SHIELD OF WOOD WITH MOSAIC DECORATION
MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN HEYE FOUNDATION, NEW YORK]
TURQUOIS MOSAIC ART
IN ANCIENT MEXICO
BY
MARSHALL H. SAVILLE
[Illustration]
NEW YORK
MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN
HEYE FOUNDATION
1922
CONDÉ NAST PRESS GREENWICH, CONN.
TO
GEORGE GUSTAV HEYE
_In appreciation of his long-continued interest in all
that pertains to the study of the aboriginal race of
America, which has reached fruition in the opening of the_
MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN
HEYE FOUNDATION
_this volume is dedicated by the author and the
staff of the Museum_
PREFACE
The writer has undertaken the present study of Mexican Turquois Mosaics
in honor of the approaching opening to the public of the Museum of
the American Indian, Heye Foundation, the only institution devoted
exclusively to the study of the aboriginal American peoples ever
established; and the proximate International Congress of Americanists
to be held at Rio de Janeiro this summer. Owing to lack of time it has
been impossible to obtain new photographic illustrations of all the
specimens of mosaic-work in European museums, but the author desires to
express his thanks to T. A. Joyce, Esq., for his courtesy in furnishing
photographs of the examples in the British Museum. To Dr. Franz
Heger, of the State Natural History Museum, Vienna, we are under deep
obligations for photographs and description of the interesting Xolotl
figure preserved in that Museum. Dr. S. K. Lothrop has kindly had
photographs made of the objects of this class in the Prehistoric and
Ethnographic Museum in Rome, and has made certain valuable observations
concerning them. To Drs. A. M. Tozzer and H. J. Spinden special
acknowledgment is due for their generous permission to illustrate the
mosaics from Chichen Itza, thus anticipating their own description of
the objects in the work now being prepared regarding one of the most
important discoveries ever made in ancient America. The fine drawings
are from the pen of William Baake, and the beautiful plates represent
the best efforts of the Heliotype Company. Finally must be acknowledged
the characteristic generosity of one of the trustees of the Museum,
James B. Ford, Esq., who has made it possible for us to publish this
paper, and to whom the Museum is indebted for its acquisition of the
precious collection of Mexican mosaics which are now described for the
first time.
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE ix
INTRODUCTION 1
EARLIEST HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS OF TURQUOIS MOSAIC
IN MEXICO 3
The Grijalva Expedition, 1518 3
Loot obtained by Cortés, 1519-1525 8
TRIBUTE OF MOSAIC PAID TO THE AZTEC RULERS 22
SOURCE OF TURQUOIS 27
THE AZTEC LAPIDARIES AND THEIR WORK 29
OBJECTS DECORATED WITH MOSAIC 40
EXISTING SPECIMENS OF MOSAIC 47
Minor Examples 48
Chichen Itza Specimens 55
Major Examples 59
Helmet 60
Masks 60
Skull Masks 67
Shields 68
Ear-plug 79
Animal Figures 80
God Figure 82
Knife Handles 82
Human Femur Musical Instrument 84
CONCLUSION 86
NOTES 92
LIST OF WORKS DESCRIBING MEXICAN MOSAICS 103
ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATES
PAGE
I. Wooden shield with turquois mosaic decoration
Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation,
New York _Frontispiece_
II. Stone idol with mosaic decoration National Museum,
Mexico 22
III. _a_, Wooden staff with turquois mosaic decoration,
from Sacred cenote, ruins of Chichen Itza,
Yucatan Peabody Museum, Cambridge
_b_, Wooden rattle with turquois mosaic decoration,
from Sacred cenote, ruins of Chichen Itza, Yucatan
Peabody Museum, Cambridge 22
IV. Wooden helmet with mosaic decoration British
Museum, London 24
V. Wooden mask with turquois mosaic decoration
British Museum, London 26
VI. Wooden mask with turquois mosaic decoration
British Museum, London 28
VII. Wooden mask with turquois mosaic decoration
Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum, Rome 30
VIII. Wooden mask with turquois mosaic decoration
Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum, Rome 32
IX. Wooden mask with turquois mosaic decoration
Museum of the American Indian, Heye
Foundation, New York 34
X. Wooden mask with turquois mosaic decoration
Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation,
New York 36
XI. Wooden mask (fragment) with turquois mosaic
decoration Museum of the American Indian,
Heye Foundation, New York 38
XII. Wooden mask (fragment) with turquois mosaic
decoration Museum of the American Indian,
Heye Foundation, New York 40
XIII. Wooden mask with mosaic decoration Museum
of the American Indian, Heye Foundation,
New York 42
XIV. Wooden mask with mosaic decoration Museum
of the American Indian, Heye Foundation,
New York 44
XV. Wooden mask (fragment) with mosaic decoration
Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation,
New York 46
XVI. Wooden mask formerly covered with mosaic decoration
Museum of the American Indian,
Heye Foundation, New York 48
XVII. Wooden mask with turquois mosaic decoration,
from Honduras Museum of the American
Indian, Heye Foundation, New York 50
XVIII. Skull mask with mosaic decoration Ethnographical
Museum, Berlin 52
XIX. Skull mask with mosaic decoration British Museum,
London 54
XX. Wooden shield with turquois mosaic decoration
British Museum, London 56
XXI. Wooden shield with turquois mosaic decoration
State Natural History Museum, Vienna 58
XXII. Back of wooden shield illustrated in Pl. I. Museum
of the American Indian, Heye Foundation,
New York 60
XXIII. Wooden shield with mosaic decoration. Museum
of the American Indian, Heye Foundation,
New York 62
XXIV. Wooden shield with mosaic decoration. Museum
of the American Indian, Heye Foundation,
New York 64
XXV. Wooden shield (fragment) with mosaic decoration.
Museum of the American Indian, Heye
Foundation, New York 66
XXVI. Wooden shield (fragment) with mosaic decoration.
Museum of the American Indian, Heye
Foundation, New York 68
XXVII. Wooden shield (fragment) with mosaic decoration.
Museum of the American Indian, Heye
Foundation, New York 70
XXVIII. Wooden shield (fragment) with mosaic decoration.
Museum of the American Indian, Heye
Foundation, New York 72
XXIX. Wooden shield (fragment) with mosaic decoration.
Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation,
New York 74
XXX. Wooden ear-plug with mosaic decoration. Museum
of the American Indian, Heye Foundation,
New York 76
XXXI. Wooden head with head-piece, with mosaic decoration.
National Museum, Copenhagen 78
XXXII. _a_, Wooden jaguar head with mosaic decoration.
Ethnographical Museum, Berlin
_b_, Wooden head of animal and human face in
jaws with mosaic decoration. National Museum,
Copenhagen 78
XXXIII. _a_, Wooden head of animal with mosaic decoration.
State Natural History Museum, Vienna
_b_, Wooden head of monkey with mosaic decoration.
British Museum, London 78
XXXIV. _a_, Wooden two-headed jaguar figure with mosaic
decoration. Ethnographical Museum, Berlin
_b_, Wooden bird’s head with mosaic decoration.
Museum, Gotha 78
XXXV. Wooden animal figure on haunches with mosaic
decoration. British Museum, London 78
XXXVI. Wooden double-headed snake figure with mosaic
decoration. British Museum, London 80
XXXVII. Wooden figure of Xolotl god with mosaic decoration.
State Natural History Museum, Vienna 80
XXXVIII. Flint knife with wooden handle with mosaic decoration.
British Museum, London 82
XXXIX. _a_, Wooden knife handle with mosaic decoration.
Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum, Rome
_b_, Wooden knife handle with mosaic decoration.
Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum, Rome 82
XL. Human femur musical instrument with mosaic
decoration. Prehistoric and Ethnographic
Museum, Rome 84
TEXT FIGURES
1. Bowl filled with turquois. After Tribute Roll of Montezuma 24
2. Ten masks of turquois. After Tribute Roll of Montezuma 24
3. Small bag filled with turquois. After Tribute Roll of
Montezuma 25
4. Shields with turquois mosaic decoration. After Tribute
Roll of Montezuma 25
5. Serpent scepter with turquois mosaic decoration. After
Sahagun, manuscript of the Real Palacio, Madrid 43
6. _a_, Gold crown with turquois mosaic decoration. After
Sahagun, manuscript of the Real Palacio, Madrid
_b_, Gold crown. After Tribute Roll of Montezuma 45
7. Pottery disc with hematite mosaic decoration, from
Cuilapa, Oaxaca. American Museum of Natural History,
New York 51
8. Gold shield breast ornament with turquois mosaic decoration,
from Yanhuitlan, Oaxaca. National Museum,
Mexico 52
9. Wooden object (fragment) with turquois mosaic decoration,
from Sacred cenote, ruins of Chichen Itza, Yucatan.
Peabody Museum, Cambridge 57
10. Wooden object (fragment) with turquois mosaic decoration,
from Sacred cenote, ruins of Chichen Itza,
Yucatan. Peabody Museum, Cambridge 57
11. Rattle of the god Xipe Totec. After Sahagun, manuscript
of the Real Palacio, Madrid 58
12. _a_, _b_, _c_, Crowns with mosaic decoration, from sculptured
wall, Temple of the Jaguars, ruins of Chichen
Itza, Yucatan. After Maudslay 58
13. Mask with mosaic decoration, from sculptured wall,
Temple of the Jaguars, ruins of Chichen Itza, Yucatan.
After Maudslay 59
14. Mask with mosaic decoration, from sculptured wall,
Temple of the Jaguars, ruins of Chichen Itza, Yucatan.
After Maudslay 59
15. Mask of wood with turquois mosaic decoration. Prehistoric
and Ethnographic Museum, Rome. After
Pigorini 63
16. God Paynal with shield decorated with turquois mosaic.
After Sahagun, manuscript of the Real Palacio, Madrid 70
17. God Paynal with shield decorated with turquois mosaic.
After Sahagun, Florentine manuscript 70
18. Glyphs of the town of Culhuacan. After Codex Telleriano
Remensis 74
19. Knife handle of wood with turquois mosaic decoration.
Prehistoric and Ethnographic Museum, Rome. After
Pigorini 83
TURQUOIS MOSAIC ART IN ANCIENT MEXICO
BY MARSHALL H. SAVILLE
INTRODUCTION
One of the tragedies of the discovery of the New World was the abrupt
and summary blotting out of the flourishing and still advancing
civilization of the Aztec and other Mexican tribes. Had their complete
conquest and subjection been delayed a few decades they in all
probability would have developed a written phonetic language. Their
intellectual abilities are evidenced by a study of the intricate
calendar system, and the picture and hieroglyphic records which
survive. The triumphs of their architectural attainments are well
known, and may be investigated in the numerous monuments and buildings
in the ruined cities scattered throughout Mexico. They had made notable
strides toward civilization in certain of the minor fine arts. Ignorant
of glass and of glazed pottery, they nevertheless developed the
ceramic art to a high degree of excellence. Their inventive genius and
technical skill were manifest in their goldsmith’s art.[1]
Without the knowledge of iron, in the working of hard precious
and semi-precious stones into idols and personal ornaments, their
craftsmanship was equal to that of the best lapidaries of Europe at
the beginning of the sixteenth century. In the lapidarian art they had
advanced so far as to fashion and adorn many objects with designs, both
geometric and realistic, in stone mosaic, employing turquois chiefly
for this purpose, but also making use of other stones--marcasite and
shell. But the supreme esthetic achievement of the Aztecs was the
production of a class of mosaics in which they used tiny bits of
colored feathers instead of stones in making the designs. This unique
art was employed in adorning objects for personal use, for warfare, or
for priestly ceremonies. The patterns were produced by applying the
tiny bits of feathers with glue either directly on wood or on wooden
objects covered with skin or with native paper. From descriptions of
feather mosaics in the writings of early chroniclers, and from a study
of the handful of specimens which have escaped the ravages of time, it
is evident that this art reached the highest artistic level attained by
any of the aboriginal tribes of America.
We will not enter into a discussion of feather mosaics at this time,
but will consider primarily the parallel art of turquois mosaic. Aside
from the numerous historical notices contained in the early chronicles
and in the inventories of the loot of the Aztecs sent to Europe by
Cortés, there is little of this art upon which to base a careful
study that has survived. It is one of the most interesting and highly
developed arts of ancient America, but it was practised by only a
few tribes. Apart from the Mexican region where turquois mosaic was
most highly developed, excellent examples have been found with other
ancient remains of the Pueblos of Arizona and New Mexico, and incrusted
objects have also been found with ancient burials on the coast of
Peru, indicating a somewhat similar technique though far less skill in
application. The materials usually employed in Mexico were turquois,
jadeite, malachite, quartz, beryl, garnet, obsidian, marcasite, gold,
bits of red and other colored shell, and nacre. The base upon which
the incrustation was laid was wood, stone, gold, shell, pottery, and
possibly leather and native paper, the mosaic being held in place by
means of a tenacious vegetal pitch or gum, or a kind of cement.
EARLIEST HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS OF TURQUOIS MOSAIC IN MEXICO
THE GRIJALVA EXPEDITION, 1518
The first knowledge received by Europeans of the existence of turquois
mosaic objects among the Mexicans was by members of the expedition sent
out from Cuba by the governor, Diego Velásquez, during the spring of
1518, under the command of Juan de Grijalva. After reaching the shores
of Yucatan near the island of Cozumel, the party coasted the Yucatan
peninsula, reaching the territory of the present State of Campeche,
which had been discovered the previous year by Francisco Hernández de
Córdoba. Proceeding westward along unknown lands, they reached a great
river in the State of Tabasco, to which the name of the commandant was
given, and it is still known as Rio de Grijalva. Here, according to
some accounts, the expedition obtained the first specimens of turquois
mosaic. We shall consider this point later. Leaving the Rio de Grijalva
they went westward and arrived at the site of the present city of Vera
Cruz, where they obtained by barter with the Indians a considerable
treasure, including some objects of turquois mosaic, which Grijalva
decided to send immediately to the governor in Cuba with a report of
his discoveries up to that time. Consequently, on June 24, 1518, one of
Grijalva’s captains, Pedro de Alvarado, set out on the return voyage to
Fernandina (Cuba), while Grijalva himself continued the exploration of
the eastern coast of Mexico.
The provenience of the treasure obtained by Grijalva on this first
expedition of discovery to the coasts of Tabasco and Vera Cruz in 1518
is not at all clear from the accounts of this voyage in the writings
both of the eye-witnesses themselves and of those who shortly afterward
wrote of the conquest from the reports of the participants in the
events. It has been generally assumed that Grijalva obtained mosaic
objects from the Indians of Tabasco; this is specifically stated
by both Oviedo and Gomara, who recorded detailed accounts of the
Grijalva expedition. The account by Oviedo[2] is even more extended
and valuable than the narrations of the eye-witnesses, namely, Juan
Díaz[3] the chaplain, and the redoubtable Bernal Díaz. Oviedo states
that his account is from the report forwarded to the King of Spain by
the governor Velásquez, who sent out the expedition from Cuba. Gomara,
who for a time was chaplain of Cortés in Spain, never visited the New
World, but had access to the various reports sent to Spain regarding
the conquest.
Unfortunately in the writings of the eye-witnesses no detailed
descriptive lists are to be found relating just what pieces of
mosaic-work were obtained by Grijalva from the Mayan Indians of Tabasco
and the people of the coast of the present State of Vera Cruz. The
extended account given by Oviedo recites the voyage from day to day and
the character of various objects received from the Tabasco Indians,
followed by the list of specimens obtained from the Mexican Indians
near the Isla de Sacrificios, Vera Cruz. We will quote from these
lists later. Gomara’s list is quite extended. In the first part of
his _Historia de las Indias_ he describes various articles procured
by Grijalva from the Indians at the mouth of the river in Tabasco,
to which his name was applied, followed in turn by the inventory of
objects obtained at San Juan de Ulua, Vera Cruz. In the second part of
his history, the _Conquista de Mexico_, he gives only a single long
inventory of the barter obtained, as he says, “from the Indians of
Potonchan [Tabasco], San Juan de Ulua, and other places of that coast.”
It seems highly probable, however, that such interesting and valuable
loot must have been accompanied with an inventory when it was sent
to Spain late in 1518 or early in 1519 by Governor Velásquez. Oviedo
mentions seeing the things, apparently in Barcelona, in May 1519. It
is possible that both Oviedo and Gomara may have had access to such an
inventory, or if not, they wrote their own descriptions of the objects
after seeing them.
Bernal Díaz, who accompanied both Grijalva and Cortés to Mexico,
wrote his history nearly fifty years after the stirring events of the
discovery and conquest. He was a prejudiced writer, and seems to have
been largely animated in his old age to tell the story of the conquest
primarily to refute many of the statements of Gomara. Bernal Díaz
writes bluntly at the very outset of his invaluable history, which he
calls the “True History,” that he speaks “here in reply to all that
has been said and written by persons who themselves knowing nothing,
have received no true account from others of what really took place,
but who nevertheless now put forward any statements that happen to suit
their fancy.” While not describing the treasure obtained by Grijalva,
he mentions “some gold jewels some (of which) were diadems and others
were in the shape of ducks like those of Castile, and other jewels like
lizards, and three necklaces of hollow beads, and other articles of
gold not of much value, for they were not worth more than two hundred
pesos.”[4] These he states were obtained from the Indians of Potonchan.
For some reason he apparently was not greatly impressed either by the
technical excellence or by the esthetic beauty of the objects procured
by barter from the vicinity of the present city of Vera Cruz; he simply
writes that the Spaniards were engaged for six days in trading with the
Indians and got more than sixteen thousand dollars’ worth of jewelry of
low-grade gold worked into various forms. He then says: “This must be
the gold which the historians Gomara, Yllescas, and Jovio say was given
by the natives of Tabasco, and they have written it down as though it
were true, although it is well known to eye-witnesses that there is no
gold in the province of the Rio de Grijalva or anywhere near it, and
very few jewels.”[5] Torquemada wrote in later years to the same effect.
In none of the accounts by the participants of this expedition are
mosaic pieces specifically mentioned. The chaplain of Grijalva’s
fleet, Juan Díaz, states merely that they were given “a mask of gold
beautifully wrought, and a little figure of a man with a little mask of
gold, and a crown of gold beads with other jewels and stone of various
colors.” This report was first printed in Venice, March 3, 1520,
appearing in Italian as an appendix to the _Itinerario_ of Ludovico de
Varthema.
An anonymous independent relation in Italian of this voyage seems to
have been printed at Venice in the same year under the title _Littera
Mãdata della Insula de Cuba_, etc., the copy in the Marciana Library,
Venice, being the only one known. From a photostat copy of the Italian
we are able to present a translation of the mention of these objects,
somewhat similar to that given by Juan Díaz. The _Littera Mãdata_
states that the Spaniards obtained “a mask of gold, and the figure of a
man all of gold, seemingly of the age of twelve, and a fan of gold, and
other jewels of divers colors.”[6]
Another anonymous early printed report, in Latin, without date or place
of printing, affords practically the same information as that contained
in the _Itinerario_ of Juan Díaz and in the _Littera Mãdata_.[7]
The earliest printed information regarding the Grijalva voyage in which
mosaic objects are specifically noted is in Peter Martyr’s _De Nvper
Sub D. Carolo Repertis Insulis_, printed in Basle in 1521. In speaking
of the valuable objects obtained by Grijalva in Coluacan (Vera Cruz),
and sent to Spain, he mentions that “the cacique brought a small golden
statue of a man, also a gold fan, and a mask beautifully wrought and
decorated with stones.”[8] It will be observed that these objects
correspond with those mentioned in the reports noted above, only that
Peter Martyr speaks of the decoration of the mask with stones. With the
exception of this note by Peter Martyr, who saw the objects in Spain,
there is, as we have said, no special statement regarding mosaic-work
to be found in the earliest known printed accounts of the Grijalva
voyage. In 1535 the great work of Oviedo was first published, and here
we find the following itemized description of pieces of mosaic-work,
said to have been obtained from the Indians of Potonchan, Tabasco.[9]
Another mask covered from the nostrils upward with well set
mosaic-work of stones resembling turquoises, and from the nostrils
downward with a thin plate of hammered gold.
Another mask resembling the first, but the stones were placed from the
eyes upward, and below them there were thin plates of beaten gold over
wood, the ears being of turquois mosaic-work.
Another mask made with bands or rods of wood, two of the strips being
covered with mosaic-work, and the remaining other three with thin
beaten gold.
A thin disc with a figure of a cemi or devil, covered above with
beaten gold-leaf, and in other parts were scattered some stones.
A tablet of wood like the headstall of a horse in armor, covered over
with thin gold-leaf, with some strips of black stones well set between
the gold.
The head of a dog covered with stones, and very well made.
From Ulua in Vera Cruz these mosaic pieces are noted:
Two masks of small stones like turquois set over wood like mosaic,
with some spangles of gold in the ears.
Two guariques of blue stones set in gold, each having eight pendants
of the same.
A mask of stone mosaic-work.
In the work of Gomara, printed in 1553, appears also an extended
account of this barter.[10]
Seler[11] and Lehmann[12] believe that most of the mosaic objects
“apparently came from the eastern provinces, i.e., Tabasco.”
Relying on the authority of both Oviedo and Gomara, Lehmann further
uses in his discussion the original Nahuatl text of Sahagun in
the Florentine manuscript copied and translated by Seler. In this
section of Sahagun’s work relating to the attributes of the Mexican
deities occurs the paragraph, “_In jtlatquj Quetzalcoatl coa-xaiacatl
xiuhticatl achivalli, quetzalapanecaiotl_,” which Lehmann renders, “The
Quetzalcoatl dress, the snake-mask with turquois work, the feather
ornament of the people of Quetzalapan (Tabasco).”[13] But there
is no mention in early chronicles or on early maps of any town _in
this region_ bearing the name Quetzalapan, and Torquemada in giving
an account of some of the wars of Montezuma writes that “during the
twelfth year of his reign (which was in 1514), his armies set out for
the land of the Chichimecas, and entered the Huaxteca, subduing those
of Quetzalapan.”[14] Other places bearing the name Quetzalapan were in
the present states of Morelos, Guerrero, and Colima.[15] In recounting
the episode of the conquest of this town, Clavijero writes explicitly
that “Montezuma sent out an army in 1512 to the north against the
Quetzalapanecas and conquered them with but little loss.”[16] Hence
the place mentioned by Sahagun would seem to have been in Vera Cruz,
and probably the region of Huaxteca or Cuexteca, for the Aztecs had
considerable communication with this territory.
LOOT OBTAINED BY CORTÉS, 1519-1525
But the treasures of native art secured by the Grijalva expedition were
insignificant by comparison with the enormously valuable loot obtained
the next year (1519) by Cortés. It is not necessary in this study of
Mexican mosaics to enter into the details of the expedition which set
out from Cuba to follow the discoveries of Grijalva and which resulted
in the conquest of Mexico. This has been done many times, but in the
main most weight is given to the writings of the Spanish participants
and to the early chroniclers. We have already studied in considerable
detail the accounts of the art objects sent to Spain by Cortés, as
contained in these early writings, and especially the inventories which
accompanied the shipments of objects sent to Europe by the conqueror.
Let us quote here merely what we wrote in presenting a summary of the
events that occurred when Cortés first landed on the coast of Vera Cruz.
After the arrival of the Spaniards on the coast of Vera Cruz, the
Indians were not long in ignorance of the consuming thirst of the
conquerors for gold. In order to placate the formidable strangers
with childlike confidence that by giving them their wish the invasion
of his dominions would be averted, Montezuma sent rich presents to
Cortés through Tendile (Teuhtlile), governor of Cuetlaxtla (the
modern Cotastla), which was then subject to the Aztecs. When all this
treasure thus brought together was ready to be sent to Spain, with the
report of the voyage, an inventory or list of the objects was drawn
up and despatched with two special messengers, Alonso Portocarrero
and Francisco de Montejo, who were charged to deliver the treasure to
the King. These valuable gifts have been briefly described by several
members of the expedition who saw them before they left Mexico,
and on their receipt in Spain they were described by various other
chroniclers.
From the inventory, which we translated, we select the items relating
to objects ornamented with stone mosaic.
Item: two collars of gold and stone mosaic-work (precious stones)....
Another item: a box of a large piece of feather-work lined with
leather, the colors seeming like martens, and fastened and placed in
the said piece, and in the center (is) a large disc of gold, which
weighed sixty ounces of gold, and a piece of blue stone mosaic-work a
little reddish, and at the end of the piece another piece of colored
feather-work that hangs from it.
Item: a miter of blue stone mosaic-work with the figure of monsters in
the center of it, and lined with leather which seems in its colors to
be that of martens, with a small (piece) of feather-work which is, as
the one mentioned above, of this said miter.
Item: ... a scepter of stone mosaic-work with two rings of gold, and
the rest of feather-work.
Item: an armlet of stone mosaic-work....
Item: a mirror placed in a piece of blue and red stone mosaic-work,
with feather-work stuck to it, and two strips of leather stuck to
it....
Item: some leggings of blue stone mosaic-work, lined with leather, of
which the colors seem like martens; on each one of them (there are)
fifteen gold bells.
Item: two colored (pieces of) feather-work which are for two (pieces
of) head armor of stone mosaic-work....
More: two guariques (ear ornaments) of blue stone mosaic-work, which
are to be put in the head of the big crocodile.
More: another head armor of blue stone mosaic-work with twenty gold
bells which hang pendent at the border, with two strings of beads
which are above each bell, and two guariques of wood with two plates
of gold.
Item: another head armor of blue stone mosaic-work with twenty-five
gold bells, and two beads of gold above each bell, that hang around it
with some guariques of wood with plates of gold, and a bird of green
plumage with the feet, beak, and eyes of gold.
Moreover: sixteen shields of stone mosaic-work with their colored
feather-work hanging from the edge of them, and wide-angled slab with
stone mosaic-work with its colored feather-work, and in the center of
the said slab, made of stone mosaic-work, a cross of a wheel which is
lined with leather, which has the color of martens.
Again: a scepter of red stone mosaic-work, made like a snake, with its
head, teeth, and eyes (made) from what appears to be mother-of-pearl,
and the hilt is adorned with the skin of a spotted animal, and below
the said hilt hang six pieces of small feather-work.
Item: a piece of colored feather-work which the lords of this land
are wont to put on their heads, and from it hang two ear-ornaments of
stone mosaic-work with two bells and two beads of gold, and above a
feather-work of wide green feathers, and below hang some white, long
hairs.[17]
Peter Martyr, who saw the specimens in Spain shortly after they
arrived, speaks of “certain miters beset with precious stones of divers
colors, among which some are blue, like unto sapphires.” Also “two
helmets garnished with precious stones of a whitish blue color: one of
these is edged with bells and plates of gold, and under every bell two
knobs of gold. The other, beside the stones wherewith it is covered, is
likewise edged with XXV golden bells and knobs: and hath on the crest,
a green bird with the feet, bill, and eyes of gold.”[18]
Las Casas describes “a helmet of plates of gold, and little bells
hanging (from it), and on it stones like emeralds.” Also “many shields
made of certain thin and very white rods, intermingled with feathers
and discs of gold and silver, and some very small pearls, like
misshapen pearls.”[19]
These are some of the statements of early Spaniards. Let us now
consider what the Indians have said about the treasure given by
Montezuma to Cortés at that time. Our best source of information is
the great _Historia_ composed by Fray Bernardino de Sahagun, who spent
many years in the valley of Mexico gathering information at first-hand
from intelligent Indians. This was shortly after the conquest when
the natives still retained vivid recollections of the fall of their
country. Without this work the history of ancient Mexico, and of the
customs and traditions of the Indians, could not be written.
We must not lose sight of the fact that Montezuma, for a number of
reasons which we need not relate here, expected the “second coming” of
the culture-hero Quetzalcoatl, the great beneficent god of the Aztecs.
This myth was one of the several causes that led to the comparatively
easy conquest of a numerous and warlike people by the Spaniards. We
have translated several chapters of Sahagun’s _Historia_ relating
to the first coming of the Christians to the coast of Mexico, which
contain a description of some of the gifts sent by Montezuma to Cortés,
while he still believed the Spanish conqueror to be the great god
Quetzalcoatl. It is really a report transmitted to us from the Aztecs,
and is a most fascinating chapter of the history of the conquest of
Mexico.[20]
CHAPTER II. _Of the first (Spanish) ships which arrived at this land
said to have been those of Juan de Grijalva._
The first time that ships appeared on the coast of New Spain, the
captains of Montezuma, who were called calpixques, who were near the
coast, at once went to see what it was that had come, never having
seen ships; one of whom was the calpixque of Cuextecatl, named Pinotl:
other calpixques went with him, one of whom, named Yaotzin, lived in
the town of Mictlanquauhtla, another named Teozinzocatl resided in the
town of Teociniocan, another named Cuitlalpitoc was not a calpixque
but the servant of one of these calpixques, and principalejos, and
another principalejo named Tentlil. These went to see what the thing
was, and carried some things to sell under pretence, so as to see what
the thing was: they carried some rich mantles which only Montezuma,
and no other (person), wore, nor had permission to wear: they entered
canoes and went to the ships, saying amongst themselves, “We are here
to guard this coast; it is right that we should know for a certainty
what this is, in order to carry accurate news to Montezuma.” They
entered at once the canoes and commenced to paddle to the ships,
and when they arrived near the vessels and saw the Spaniards, all
kissed the prows of the ships, in sign of adoration, thinking that
it was the god Quetzalcoatl that had returned, which god, as appears
in the history, was already expected. Then the Spaniards spoke and
said: “Who are you? Whence have you come? From where are you?” Those
who came in the canoes responded, “We have come from Mexico.” The
Spaniards said, “If it is true that you are Mexicans, tell us what
is the name of the Lord of Mexico.” They replied, “Our Lord, he is
called Montezuma,” and then they presented all of those rich mantles
which they had brought to him who went as general of those ships,
who was, as is said, Grijalva, and the Spaniards gave to the Indians
some glass beads, some green and others yellow, and the Indians when
they saw them were very much astonished and esteemed them greatly,
and then they (the Spaniards) dismissed the Indians, saying, “Now we
return to Castile, and will soon return and will (then) go to Mexico.”
The Indians returned to land and soon departed for Mexico, where they
arrived in a day and a night, to give the news of what they had seen
to Montezuma, and they brought to him the beads which had been given
them by the Spaniards, and spoke to him (Montezuma) as follows: “Our
Lord, we are deserving of death; hear what we have seen, and what we
have done. Thou hast placed us on guard at the seashore; we have seen
some gods on the sea, and went to receive them, and give them various
rich mantles; look at these beads that they gave us, saying to us,
‘Is it true that you are Mexicans? Look at these beads, give them to
Montezuma, that he may know of us.’” And they told him all that had
happened when they were with those (people) on the sea in the ships.
Montezuma responded: “You have come tired and worn out; go and rest.
I have received this (news) in secret, and command you not to say
anything whatever about what has happened.”