Genealogy and Land Record of Juan Tepetzin (Fragmento de las Mujeres) Item Number: 37.361 from the Brooklyn Museum
Description
A sheet of paper with a pictorial genealogy recorded in multicolored inks. The focal point of the genealogy is Juan Tepetzin, who is dressed in the dark cloak in the bottom center of the document. His forebears, who are depicted above him, are members of the native elite and they are wearing elegant cloaks and sandals and holding bouquets favored by the nobility. Tepetzin's ancestor Yxtletletzin is sheltered within a palace. The document is identified as being from Tlaxcala for a few reasons: the wooden stools on which Tepetzin's male relatives sit and the brick-like upper story of the palace are typical Tlaxcalan works, and similar bouquets and red-netted cloaks are found in the Lienzo of Tlaxcala, a narrative painting of Tlaxcala's Conquest-era history. In this document, two rectangles (one with five plants) were added after the genealogy was painted. These rectangles denote agricultural fields and indicate with the Nahuatl text that Juan Tepetzin took over some abandoned lands. The genealogy therefore relates to a land transfer.
Label
The Genealogy of Juan Tepetzin records the distinguished heritage and landholdings of a member of the Tlaxcalan elite, who appears at the bottom dressed in a dark tilmatl, or cloak. Such genealogies were important for land transfers in Tlaxcalan society, in which the nobility were prohibited from selling land to commoners. As a member of the indigenous elite, Tepetzin could also claim privileged status within the Spanish colonial system, which distinguished Indian nobles from their common brethren.
La Genealogía de Juan Tepetzin registra la distinguida herencia y los terrenos de un miembro de la élite de Tlaxcala, que aparece en la parte inferior vestido con un tilmatl oscuro, o capa. Tales genealogías eran importantes para los traspasos de tierras en la sociedad de Tlaxcala, en la cual la nobleza tenía prohibida la venta de tierras a plebeyos. Al pertenecer a la élite indígena, Tepetzin podía reclamar sus derechos y privilegios dentro del sistema colonial español, que distinguía a la nobleza indígena de sus hermanos comunes.
Credit Line
Charles Stewart Smith Memorial Fund and Henry L. Batterman Fund
Item History
- Made between 1573 and 1577
What
- Name
- Genealogy and Land Record of Juan Tepetzin (Fragmento de las Mujeres)
- Identification Number
- 37.361
- Type of Item
- record
- Material
- ink and laid paper
- Measurements
- “17 x 12 1/4 in. (43.2 x 31.1 cm) frame: 29 1/2 x 23 1/2 x 1 3/4 in. (74.9 x 59.7 x 4.4 cm)” ?
Who
- Culture
- Tlaxcalan
Where
- Holding Institution
- Brooklyn Museum
When
- Creation Date
- between 1573 and 1577
Other
- Classification
- Document