For the first time in more than 180 years, a significant centuries-old codex from the high culture of the Aztecs is returning from France to Mexico—but not permanently. As part of a short-term loan, the Codex Azcatitlan is on view until the end of the year at the National Museum of Anthropology and History in the Mexican capital.
As Mexican Culture Minister Claudia Curiel announced at the opening ceremony, the exhibition is part of an exchange with France marking the 200th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In return, Mexico has made the Codex Boturini available for an exhibition in France.
The pictorial manuscript presented in Mexico tells the story of the Mexica people. It describes their migration from the mythical place of Aztlan (hence the name Aztecs) in 1168, as well as the founding of the capital Tenochtitlan in what is now Mexico City and the succession of various Aztec rulers. The narrative extends to shortly after the Spanish conquest in 1521.
A researcher brought the codex to France in the 19th century
In the mid-19th century, the document, which was written by Indigenous people on European paper during Spanish colonial rule, was brought to France by a French researcher and collector. It has been in the possession of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France since 1898.
For years, the Mexican government has campaigned intensively for the permanent restitution of cultural objects that were taken from Mexico abroad. In this case, however, Curiel described it as a “temporary and reciprocal exchange.”
According to Aztec tradition, the Mexica people founded Tenochtitlan in 1325 on an uninhabited island in Lake Texcoco, which has largely disappeared today. There, as their gods had promised, they found an eagle perched on a cactus and devouring a snake.