Plan of Mexico, in Hernando Cortés, La preclara narratione di Ferdinando Cortese della Nuoua Hispagna,...

This woodcut has two separate elements: a chart of the Gulf of Mexico in which south is at the top, and a plan-view of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán (here Temixtitan). In keeping with the roughly circular form of the city, the plan is essentially a rotational bird’s-eye view. Its consistent viewpoint is the great central square with its Aztec temple (complete with the heads of sacrificial victims), bordered on one side by Montezuma’s palace. 1524 2 maps on 1 sheet : b&w ; 16.5 x 16 cm. & 30 x 31 cm., on sheet 34 x 46 cm., folded to 28 x 19 cm.; Scale not given.