The Art of the Tovar Codex

Illustrations from the Tovar Codex in 44 full page color plates



The Tovar Codex (also known as the Ram rez Codex) is a 16th century Mexican manuscript entitled Relaci n del origen de los indios que h bitan esta Nueva Espa a seg n sus Historias (lit. Relation of the origin of the Indians who inhabit this New Spain according to their histories). The codex narrates the history of the Aztecs from their gradual migration into the Anahuac valley to the fall of Tenochtitlan. Attributed to Juan de Tovar (1543-1623), a Jesuit priest and writer, most scholars believe that the work is based on an earlier Nahuatl source. The manuscript was discovered in 1856 by historian Jos Fernando Ram rez in the library of the convent of San Francisco in Mexico. The illustrations in the present volume are from an edition of the work held by the Library of Congress.