The Harkness Collection

Selected images from the collection

[140K JPEG]

This painting is one of eight Indian paintings from the 1531 Huejotzingo Codex, part of the documentation in a legal action brought by the conqueror of Mexico, Hernán Cortés, against members of the first audiencia or the Spanish high court in Mexico, who earlier had tried to take over Cortés's land and power. The eight paintings in the codex illustrate the testimony of Indians called as witnesses in the case. This painting illustrates the contributions of the Huejotzingo people to Cortés's conquest of New Galicia.