Quetzalcoatl Postcard

Introducing “Sacred Symbols” Collection by C.7 Design Studio. Here you will find a unique design, featuring the Quetzalcoatl – the Snake-God of Mesoamerica, as depicted in the Codex Borgia. The Codex Borgia is one of the most beautiful of the few surviving pre-Columbian painted manuscripts. The exact place of origin of this codex is not known, however there is no doubt, that it originates from the central Mexican highlands (possibly near Puebla or the Tehuacán Valley), an area which was under Aztec rule at the time of the conquest. Obviously, this codex was originally painted before the arrival of the Spanish, since it does not show any European influence. It probably dates to the late 15th century. In the 16th century it was sent from Mexico to Spain, and from there to Italy. The great German scholar Alexander von Humboldt saw it in Rome in 1805 among the possessions of Cardinal Stefano Borgia, who had died the previous year. Today the Codex Borgia is housed in the Apostolic Library of the Vatican. Quetzalcoatl is a mysterious ancient god who took the appearance of a serpent-like figure, whose body was covered with the emerald feathers of the sacred quetzal bird. Quetzalcoatl was Lord and Master of the wind, science and the arts, a supreme creator god who together with two brothers gave life to man and the universe during the current “fifth sun”. Quetzalcoatl (the Nahuatl name for the god means “feathered serpent”) is perhaps one of the most ancient gods to exist in Mesoamerica. In the Maya language, he was known as Kukulcan. But Quetzalcoatl has even more distant origins than the Aztecs or Maya or even the Toltecs. Quetzalcoatl probably dates back to the earliest of all Mesoamerican civilisations, the Olmec whose beginnings date back to around 1500 BCE.