Post written by Sam Canevez
Monday in Dresden was one of the events on the trip I was most excited for (the first being sneaking off to see the Spanish Riding School perform in Vienna.) We traveled to the Saxon State and University Library to see the Mayan Codex of Dresden! The document, which could be up to eight hundred years old, is one of only four of its kind to survive the Spanish conquest of Mexico.
The Mayan Codex at Dresden is housed in the Corty Gallery of the Saxon State Library, where it has been kept since its acquisition in 1739. It is one of only four Mayan codices; the other three are kept in museums in Paris, Madrid, and Mexico City.
After touring an exhibition of local Saxon audiovisual recordings from the twentieth century, the museum director led us into the central room which houses the codex. The document itself is shaped much like an accordion-style pamphlet, with glyphs and illustrations on both sides. The glass frame in which it is mounted allows the reverse side of the codex to be viewed via mirrors inside the display case, though this was a bit harder to view than the side facing up.
What was most striking about the codex was how clear and vibrant it was after having existed for so long and traveled so far. While some parts of it were degraded, much of the document featured clear and beautiful symbols, records, and depictions of various gods and entities of relevance to the Mayan people.
And while the codex was impressive to look at, I found a deeper appreciation for it as I took the time to sketch from some of the illustrations right there in the museum. While the depictions appear outlandish at first sight, mostly due to their many decorations, I found that the anatomy and attention to detail of the figures was actually quite a bit more realistic than I’d thought on observation alone. Since we didn’t have the whole day to spend simply staring at the wonder that is the codex, I made sure to take lots of photos before we took our leave.
Sam does some sketching while Hugo discusses the codex with museum director Karina.
We had the rest of the day free and had some fun scootering around Dresden, but I made sure to take some time to record the experience and my thoughts in the travel journal. We enjoyed some margaritas in the evening while I copied some of the more animal-like glyphs that I liked from various spots on the codex. It was a fun and relaxing end to a lovely (if hot) day in Dresden.
Excerpt from a travel journal entry in progress about the Mayan Codex visit.
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