Customer Reviews

The Codex Borgia: A Full-Color Restoration of the Ancient Mexican Manuscript (Dover Fine Art, History of Art)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An excellent source book for anyone looking for authentic reproductions of the original that is housed in the Vatican Libray. This is a reproduction of an ancient document from the Mixtecs, around 1400 AD, from the area today known as Puebla or Oaxaxa. The project took seven years to complete as they painstakingly reproduced the Codex with accuracy and authenticity. The color plates are a delight to the eye as they depict kings, mythical warriors and the Mixtec belief system. Each plate is explained, in great detail, in the beginning of the book for your convevience. The colorful plates are intricate and exact on thick high quality paper. This is great stuff for an artist working in any medium that needs inspiration or just wants to reproduce. A good book for history buffs too.

This is a wonderful resouce for those interested in ancient Mexico. Full photographic facsimilies of these codices are hideously expensive, and really, most are not in great shape. After extensive research, we have here a great reproduction of what this important work looked like when it was "fresh off the presses." It is beautiful, and in comparison to Dover's similar Codex Nuttall, this work comes with a MUCH better introduction that explains more of the text, the context, and the ideology. Readers will be able to better understand some of the religious principles of the ancient Mexicans (and there is some debate whether this book was painted by Aztecs or Mixtecs, which I won't bore you with!). It shows gods, ceremonies, the calender, and other religious iconography which is interesting, and would be a revelation for more the artisticly inclined. The visuals are wonderfully presented and all in all this is an astonishing bargain. Those with even a casual interest in New World archaeology or art NEED to get this book.

This book gives terrific insight into the ancient Mexicans, their theology and world view, and their way of life. The illustrations are extremely well done, and the interpretation is on the mark. A must-have for anyone interested in ancient Mesoamerica.

A must-have for those interested in the Aztec Calendar. A full-color restoration of one of the few remaining ancient manuscripts. It opens up the fascinating world of Aztec gods and their relation to the calendar. A pity that it doesn't give a full explanation for every page.

This is a very strange and beautiful book in pictures. It reads like a dream if you tune in to it, and reveals very deep meanings about the relation between life and death, the human relation to the forces of nature, and time. Even though there are no words, it is possible to understand. If you get into it the symbols become more and more recognizable, and they begin to speak. the calendrical symbols and the spirit deities are completely recognizable. The sequences are all about times, and there is a big element about sacrifice. It has to do with the consequences of change; there is no life without death. The book has a very powerful image of life and death fused back to back that pretty much is the epitome of all the book is about. It's all about life and death in relation to time.

Be warned that you must compare the images from this reproduction to the original, for three reasons: 1) sometimes the authors of this reproduction use colors that do not match the original codex, 2) sometimes the authors of this reproduction place the wrong imagery in the reproduction, for example a monkey's head instead of a humans head, and 3)Sometimes the authors speculate as to what might have been on a page and they use their own judgment, which might be wrong.

Other than that, this is a great reproduction of the Borgia codex. It is cheap, it is light and it is well made. Another thing to keep in mind, the codex borgia is read left to right, this reproduction was printed right to left, so it forces you to read the codex in the wrong direction.

Look at the "plate number" and the page number in the book, they do not match. Also notice that the plate number is in descending order.

I will not go over their 5 star comments except to say that I agree. The amazingly colourful and crisp art in this short book is rivetting. As much as one may credit the reknowned author, deep congratulations should also go to the publisher for a masterful print job.

Sin duda este es un título que no debe faltar en ningúna biblioteca personal, ya que la restauración de uno de los principales códices es perfecta, para aquellos interesados en la cultura y ciencia ancestral este códice es de gran ayuda.

If you can truly understand the true meanings of the artwork, you are taken back hundreds of years and get inside the minds of the ancient peoples. I suggest getting this book, go over it and then try and find someone who is knowledgeable on the matter. You will be amazed and things will make sense.

What a wonderful reproduction! The attention to detail is truly impeccable.

Thank you Diaz and Rodgers, thank you for making it possible for me to own a copy of this important work. I can now hold the Codex Borgia in my own hands and study it at my convenience.