The Lienzo Coixtlahuaca II / Lienzo Seler II
The Lienzo, a painted cotton cloth of about 16 sqm from the 16th century, recounts, amongst other things, the history of the Coixtlahuaca Valley and adjacent areas in the Mexican state of Oaxaca since the 11th century. For the inhabitants of the same-named main village and its neighbouring communities, who today identify themselves as Chocholtec people, the Lienzo is a key document of great ideational and symbolic value.
Project objectives
The project involves the cooperation between stakeholders from the community museum in the main village of Coixtlahuaca, the Ethnologisches Museum Berlin, four other towns in the valley that preserve their own lienzos, and Mexican textile conservators. The project strives to facilitate the exchange of information about provenance, interpretation, exhibition education, and conservation, as well as the explicitly desired transfer of a precise replica of the Lienzo Coixtlahuaca II / Seler II to the community museum. By promoting discussion between the communities about cultural and historical issues, the project aims to foster regional integration. The exchange between textile conservators has helped to clarify open questions regarding the conservation of the Lienzo, and to learn about Mexican conservation practices.
Workshops in Berlin (2024) and Coixtlahuaca (2025)
The representatives for the Berlin workshop were selected by the community assemblies. The handover of the Lienzo replica took place in Coixtlahuaca in a festive setting. At one of the workshops, a Lienzo game was developed with children from the region, among other things, with reference to the endangered Chocholtec language.
Article: Handover of the Replica of the Codex Coixtlahuaca II at the Ethnological Museum Berlin [ES]
Report: Return of the Lienzo de Coixtlahuaca II to Oaxaca in the Form of a Replica [ES]
Feature: The Chocholtec People Reunite with the Codex in Berlin [ES]
Facebook Photo: Impressions from the Event / Delegation Visit in Berlin
Blog Post by the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin: Visit of an Indigenous Delegation & the History of Coixtlahuaca [DE]
Humboldt Forum: Information on the Lienzo Seler II
IAI Page: Exchange with Mexican Partners on Collections from the Valley of Coixtlahuaca [DE]
Projekt-Info
Region: Berlin, Germany
Coixtlahuaca Valley, Oaxaca, Mexico
Community: Chocholtec people represented by the Concejo de Gobierno Tradicional del Pueblo Chocholteco Ngigua-Ngiba and its president Horacio Miguel Cruz; Concejo; / the municipality of San Juan Bautista Coixtlahuaca and the villages of San Gerónimo Otla, Santa María Nativitas, San Miguel Tequixtepec, San Miguel Tulancingo from the Coixtlahuaca Valley, Oaxaca, Mexico, which still preserve their own lienzos in their community to this day.
Cooperation partners: Ethnologisches Museum Berlin; The community museum NCHA NI DEXÄ NI BOLLE RRU NGIGUA (Museo Comunitario Coixtlahuaca) in San Juan Bautista Coixtlahuaca, Oaxaca, Mexico; the Department of Textile Conservation of the Coordinación Nacional de Conservación del Patrimonio Cultural (CNCPC) of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) in Mexico City
Project management: Ute Schüren, curator; Irina Seekamp, textile conservator; Kerstin Flemming (†), textile conservator
Research: Valerie von Stillfried for education and outreach; Scientific advisors: Geert Bastiaan (Sebastián) van Doesburg, UNAM, Mexico, Instituto de Investigaciones Filológicas and member of the board of directors of the Bibliotheca de Investigación Juan de Córdova, Fundación Harp Helú, Oaxaca, ethnohistorian, linguist and specialist in indigenous languages, scripts, pre-Columbian and colonial codices and lienzos;
Stephan A. Kowalewski, archaeologist, University of Georgia, Athens.
Both colleagues are experts and have been conducting academic research on the cultural history of Oaxaca, especially the Coixtlahuaca Valley, for many years. They enjoy great trust among the authorities of the various communities in the valley. The exchange with the five indigenous communities was prepared and closely supervised by both colleagues.
Projektförderung: CoMuse
Projektlaufzeit: 03/2023 – 06/2026