Rare Aztec Codex Azcatitlan Returns to Mexico on Loan After Nearly Two Centuries

The Codex Azcatitlan, a vital 16th-century Mexican manuscript detailing Aztec history through pictograms, went on public display in Mexico City on Thursday, marking its return after nearly 200 years in France. The codex chronicles the trajectory of the Aztec civilization, spanning from the establishment of the Aztec Empire to its collapse during the Spanish conquest and the subsequent introduction of Christianity.

Mexico has long campaigned for the full restitution of the document, but France has so far declined to permanently return it. The current exhibition, hosted at the National Museum of Anthropology, was arranged by France’s National Library to commemorate the bicentennial of diplomatic relations between the two nations.

Emotional reactions emerged among members of Indigenous groups present at the unveiling. Emilia Mendoza, representing the Hnahnu community, expressed jubilation upon seeing two folios from the manuscript enclosed in a glass case. “They hid our history from us, they stole it!” Mendoza told AFP. “This is a battle won, a first step toward the restitution of these books that reside in other countries,” she added.

During the inauguration, Mexican Foreign Minister Roberto Velasco framed the event as a moment of cultural reconnection. He stated that the exhibition aimed to “reunite a population with its (collective) memory,” emphasizing that the pictograms serve as “the written voice of our ancestors” and a foundational element of national identity.

Created shortly after the Spanish arrival in the 1500s, the Codex Azcatitlan is regarded as one of the most significant records of Aztec culture. It narrates the migration from the mythical homeland of Aztlan to Tenochtitlan, the precursor to modern Mexico City. The artwork, rendered in vivid reds, blues, greens, and yellows, features images of warriors wearing feathered headdresses and ritual ceremonies conducted within pyramid temples.

Despite the loan, Mexico continues to press for the manuscript’s permanent repatriation. In 2024, President Claudia Sheinbaum urged French President Emmanuel Macron to return the Codex Azcatitlan alongside the Codex Borbonicus, another significant manuscript held in France. “If it’s from Mexico, why isn’t it in Mexico?” questioned Karen Trejo, a 28-year-old ethnohistorian attending the exhibition.

The Codex Azcatitlan consists of 25 sheets of European-imported parchment. It was donated to the National Library of France in 1898 by the widow of collector Eugene Goupil, having arrived in France half a century earlier under researcher Joseph Marius Alexis Aubin. It remains one of two major Aztec volumes housed in France; the Codex Borbonicus, which depicts divinatory and solar calendars, is kept at the library of the National Assembly.

The dispute over colonial-era artifacts has previously strained bilateral relations. In 1982, tensions rose when Mexican lawyer Jose Luis Castaneda removed the Codex Tonalamatl from the National Library of France and returned it to Mexico. While France condemned the act as theft, Mexico celebrated the recovery and retained the manuscript.

Official institutions in both France and Mexico maintain their respective claims of ownership. According to the National Institute of Anthropology and History, Mexico has successfully repatriated over 16,200 items from various countries since 2018.