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embassy in 1513 ; but I ask how it was pos- 

 sible to have Mexican paintings in Europe 

 in 1513, since Hernandez de Cordova did not 

 discover the coasts of Yucatan till 1517, and 

 Cortez landed at Vera Cruz only in 1519? Is 

 it probable, that the Spaniards should have found 

 Mexican paintings in the island of Cuba, when 

 the inhabitants of that island, notwithstanding 

 the short distance from False Cape to Cape St. 

 Antonio, do not appear to have had any com- 

 munication with the Mexicans ? It is true, 

 that, in the note added to the collection of 

 Vienna, this collection is not called Codex Mexi- 

 canus, but Codex Lidice meridionalis : never- 

 theless the perfect analogy between this manu- 

 script and those at Veletri and Rome leaves no 

 doubt with respect to their common origin. King 

 Emanuel died in 1521 ; Clement the Seventh 

 in 1534 : it seems to me incredible, that before 

 the first entry of the Spaniards into Tenoch- 

 titlan on the 8th of November, 1519, there 

 should have been a Mexican manuscript at 

 Rome. At whatever period it reached Italy, 

 it is certain, that, after having passed from 

 hand to hand, it was offered in 1677 to the 

 Emperor Leopold by the Duke of Saxe-Eise- 

 nach. 



We are altogether ignorant of the fate of 

 the collection of Mexican paintings, which ex- 

 isted toward the end of the 17th century at 



