Conference on Mesoamerican manuscripts

Conference

"Mesoamerican manuscripts: new scientific approaches and
    interpretations"
May 31 - June 2, 2016
Weston Library
Oxford University

At the Bodleian Libraries, we have a duty to preserve our
collections, in order to guarantee their permanence and stability
for present and future generations of scholars.  We are also
committed to studying our collections and to providing access to
them for researchers worldwide.  This 'understand to preserve'
approach is the umbrella that brings together conservators,
curators, scientists, and scholars in various fields to learn more
about the pictorial techniques and other materials used in the
Bodleian's five pre-Hispanic and early colonial Mesoamerican
pictorial manuscripts: Codex Laud, Codex Bodley, Codex Selden, Codex
Mendoza, and the recently re-named Roll of the New Fire (also known
as the Selden Roll).

Due to the fragility of the codices, very little work had been done
in the past to scientifically characterise their materials and
composition.  Yet it is these very aspects that are critical to
understanding the nature of these documents, their construction and
their durability.  Through an award from the Cultural Heritage
Advanced Research Infrastructures, Synergy for a Multidisciplinary
Approach to Conservation/Restoration (CHARISMA

    <URL:https://ec.europa.eu/research/infrastructures/pdf/charisma.pdf>

characterisation, using non-invasive instrumental means (MOLAB), of
the colours present in these unique testimonies of Mesoamerican
culture.  The results of this work will be presented to the public
for the first time at this conference, for which we have brought
together an outstanding panel of scholars and experts in
Mesoamerican studies.  They will be sharing their knowledge and
recent findings on the making and historical significance of the
Bodleian's and other early, pictorial Mesoamerican manuscripts,
situating them in the context of the pre-Columbian and colonial
societies that produced them, describing the world they depict, and
reflecting upon their meaning in contemporary Mexico and beyond.

The conference will also include a workshop on how to read Mixtec
manuscripts: among the painted books from ancient Mexico preserved
at the Bodleian Library are two manuscripts that refer to the world
of the a'uu Dzaui, the 'Nation of the Rain', an indigenous people
(also known as the Mixtec) that lives in Southern Mexico.  Today
approximately half a million persons speak the Mixtec language.
Their mountainous region is rich in (still little explored)
archaeological sites and art works, as well as in oral tradition.
These manuscripts are magnificent examples of ancient Mexican
historiography, which used a sophisticated form of pictorial
writing.  In colourful painted images they tell the history of the
dynasties that ruled several Mixtec city-states prior to the Spanish
conquest (1521).  Genealogical information is combined with the
depiction of events such as sacred origins, military conflicts,
rituals, oracles, marital alliances and political intrigues.  Precise
dates are given in the ancient Mixtec calendar, which cover a time
span from the 10th till the 16th Century A.D.  The workshop offers
an introduction to this subject matter and to the method of reading
these manuscripts, while also paying attention to related topics
such as Mixtec archaeology, ceremonial language and religious
worldview.

Speakers and participants will also be able to admire these
treasures when they participate in this conference, as the Bodleian
will be publicly displaying them together in one showcase for the
first time since they entered our collections in the 17th century.
Both display and conference will take place in one of the most
stunning venues in Oxford, the recently refurbished Weston Library.

For more information and other links and conference programme:

    <URL:http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/whats-on/upcoming-events/2016/may/mesoamerican-manuscripts-new-scientific-approaches-and-interpretations>

Registration fee: UKP60.  To register, telephone or e-mail:

    Ms. Fiona Garratt
    +44 1865277124
    fiona.garratt<-at->bodleian<.>ox<.>ac<.>uk

The conference is convened by

    Ms. Virginia Llado-Buisan
    Head of Conservation and Collection Care
    Bodleian Libraries
    Oxford University

and

   Prof. Dr. Maarten Jansen
   Professor of Mesoamerican Archaeology and History
   Leiden University

Virginia M. Llado-Buisain
Head of Conservation and Collection Care
Bodleian Libraries
Oxford University


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 29:35
                 Distributed: Sunday, January 31, 2016
                       Message Id: cdl-29-35-010
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