Table 2 List of the investigated codices (Type 1: hybrid palygorskite-based Maya blue; Type 2: hybrid palygorskite-based Maya blue possibly obtained with a low indigo content and/or high temperatures; Type 3: hybrid sepiolite-based Maya blue; Type 4: indigo used as dye, or supported on layered clays)
Classification | Name | Storing institution | Description | Dating, provenance | Content | Type of blue | n° meas. | Features (λmax abs) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UV Mean (SD) | Vis Mean (SD) | ||||||||
Maya Group (Maya Area, Late Postclassic Period) | Madrid Codex | Museo de America, Madrid | 112 pages ca. 22.6 × 12.2 cm Amate paper support | Pre-colonial, North-eastern Yucatan | Calendrical–ritual | Type 1 (blue areas) | 11 | 294 (1) | 666 (2) |
Type 2 (grey areas) | 6 | s 294a | 657 (5) | ||||||
Mixtec Group (Southwest Area, Late Postclassic Period, Early colonial) | Codex Zouche-Nuttall | British Museum, London | 94 pages ca. 24.3 × 18.4 cm Animal skin support | Pre-colonial, Tilantongo (state of Oaxaca) | Historical–genealogical | Type 1 | 2 | 290 (2) | 656 (1) |
Codex Bodley | Bodleian Library, Oxford | 46 pages ca. 29 × 26 cm Animal skin support | Pre-colonial, Tilantongo (state of Oaxaca) | Historical–genealogical | Commelina + silicate (original palette) | – | – | – | |
Type 2 (repainted areas) | 1 | 289 | 658 | ||||||
Codex Selden | Bodleian Library, Oxford | 40 pages ca. 27.5 × 27.5 cm Animal skin support | Colonial, Jaltepec (state of Oaxaca) | Historical–genealogical | Commelina + silicate | – | – | – | |
Borgia Group (Central Mexico, Late Postclassic Period) | Codex Laud | Bodleian Library, Oxford | 48 pages ca. 16.5 × 15.5 cm Animal skin support | Pre-colonial, Southern Puebla/North-western Oaxaca | Calendrical–ritual | Type 1 | 8 | 294 (0) | 665 (2) |
Codex Fejérváry Mayer | World Museum, Liverpool | 44 pages ca. 17.5 × 17.5 cm Animal skin support | Pre-Colonial, Southern Puebla/North-western Oaxaca | Calendrical–ritual | Type 1 | 8 | 295 (1) | 666 (2) | |
Codex Borgia | Biblioteca Vaticana, Città del Vaticano | 78 pages ca. 27 × 26.5 cm Animal skin support | Pre-colonial, Puebla-Tlaxcala region (Cholula?) | Calendrical–ritual | Type 2/3 (unusual composition) | 10 | vw 295 (2) | 655 (5) | |
Codex Cospi | Biblioteca Universitaria, Bologna | 40 pages ca. 18 × 18 cm Animal skin support | Obverse: pre-colonial, Puebla-Tlaxcala region (Cholula?) Reverse: pre-colonial, Southern Puebla/North-western Oaxaca | Calendrical–ritual | Type 1 | 8 | 291 (1) | 662 (5) | |
Codex Vaticanus B | Biblioteca Vaticana, Città del Vaticano | 98 pages ca. 15.5 × 13.5 cm Animal skin support | Pre-colonial, Southern Puebla/North-western Oaxaca. Repainted pages either of pre-colonial or early colonial times | Calendrical–ritual | Type 3 | 8 | 292 (2) | 647 (3) | |
Type 4 | 6 | s 289 (3) | 651 (1) | ||||||
Early Colonial codices | Selden Roll | Bodleian Library, Oxford | Single strip ca. 350 × 38 cm Amate paper support | Colonial, Coixtlahuaca Valley (Oaxaca) | Historical | Type 2 | 1 | vw 291 | 657 |
Codex Vaticanus A | Biblioteca Vaticana, Città del Vaticano | 101 pages ca. 48 × 37 cm2 European paper support | Colonial; Puebla | Calendrical–ritual/historical | Type 4 (sometimes mixed with azurite) | 4 | – | 650 (1) | |
Codex Mendoza | Bodleian Library, Oxford | 142 pages ca. 31.5 × 21.5 cm2 European paper support | Colonial, Mexico City | Historical-economic | Type 1 | 4 | 295 (1) | 663 (1) | |
Codex Tudela | Museo de America, Madrid | 238 pages ca. 22 × 16 cm2 European paper support | Colonial, Mexico City | Calendrical–ritual | Type 1 | 4 | 294 (1) | 666 (2) | |