Codex Borgia

The Codex Borgia is a central ritual and divinatory manuscript of the pre-Columbian Mixtec culture, originally dating back to the period before the Spanish conquest of Mexico. In 1976, this specific edition was produced as a high-quality facsimile and scholarly analysis, edited by Karl Anton Nowotny. The publication was designed to provide researchers and collectors with an accessible, high-fidelity reproduction of the original screenfold manuscript, which is currently housed in the Vatican Library.

Karl Anton Nowotny, a noted Austrian specialist in Mexican manuscripts, contributed extensive commentary that contextualizes the complex religious iconography and calendar systems depicted within the codex. By publishing this through Club du Livre and Philippe Lebaud, the collaborators aimed to preserve the visual integrity of the original painting style while ensuring that the esoteric religious narratives—centered on deities like Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca—could be studied systematically by a wider academic and bibliophilic audience.