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Guillermo Dupaix

Gullermo Dupaix was one of the first Europeans to observe, describe, and illustrate the archaeological sites and artifacts of Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Yucatan. He was born in Austro-Hungary in either 1748 or 1750 and died in 1817. Dupaix was a captain under the regiment of Dragones de Almansa and in 1791 he arrived in Mexico and served for nearly a decade. Between the years of 1805 and 1807, he led three Royal expeditions to observe and survey Mexican archaeological sites. Popular sites he visited were the Mayan ruins at Palenque, the Zapotec/Mixtec site at Mitla, and several Aztec sites. During these expeditions he worked closely with Jose Luciano Castaneda, an artist with the national musuem.

Contributions

Guillermo Dupaix's most famous contributions were to Lord Edward Kingsborough. Dupaix added to Lord Kingsborough's 9 volume Antiquities of Mexico (1830-48) comprising of fac-similes of ancient Mexican paintings and heiroglyphics. In it Dupaix wrote The Mounuments of New Spain, which accompanied many of Lord Kingsborough's artifacts with descriptions and respective scales of measurement. Guillermo Dupaix also compiled his work into his own 2 volume book. The first is titled "Collecion Chimalista, De Libros y Documentos Acerca De La Nueva Espana", and the second is "Expediciones, Acerca De Los Antiguos Monumentos De La Nueva Espana". This was one volume containing all of his and Castaneda's illustrations and a second volume containing the accompanying, decriptive text for the illustrations.

Monuments of New Spain

Gullermo Dupaix's addition to Kingsborough's Antiquities of Mexico, Monuments of Spain, consisted of three parts. The first part contains sixteen plates, which were lithographed by A. Aglio. The second part was not entirely lithographic. The third part consists of views of monuments and buildings, most lithographed. The drawings in this part contain a sacrificial stone where twenty-four persons are made to represent the same number of territories. The formation of a head and nose are noticeable, some essential characteristics of the monuments of Mexican sculpture.

Lord Edward Kingsborough

Lord Edward Kingsborough, born in 1795, was the firstborn heir to an Irish Earl. He was a successful, wealthy student at Oxford University. After becoming very interested in politics and graduating he was elected to the House of Commons. He then became obsessed with the Bodley Codex in the Oxford Library and was convinced that the ancient Mexicans were descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel. Kingsborough then devoted his life to try and find evidence of the Jewish origin of Mexicans. He began compiling texts, manuscripts, and hundreds of engravings from different sites in Mexico. After his collections he devoted his time and wealth to publishing the 9 volume "Antiquities of Mexico" from 1831-1848. Resulting from all of his publishing was great debt with the paper manufacturers. He became imprisoned as a result and eventually, in 1837, at the age of 42, died in debtors prison. The following year he would have inherited his fathers title as an Irish Earl. Although his materials were unorganized, they were recognized as important documents concerning ancient Mexican cultures.

Expeditions

While Guillermo Dupaix was a captain in the service of the King of Spain he made three expeditions to Mexico in 1805, 1806, and 1807 to observe Mexican monuments. As a part of "Monuments of New Spain", he included several of the results from his travels. These included specimens of Mexican Sculpture, preserved in Paris and in the British Museum; plates copied from the "Giro del Hondo" of Gemelli Carreri (with an engraving of a Mexican Cycle); specimens of Peruvian Quipos; and drawings of various figures.

Skepticism on Dupaix

Although Guillermo Dupaix contributed to an important piece of information on ancient Mexico, his work and personal qualities have been called into question. According to Walter Krickeberg's book, "American Anthropologist", a confidential army report of 1800, cited by Alcina Franch, makes clear his lack of aptitudes. Krickeberg also claims that Dupaix's knowledge on archeological surveys of Mexico was minimal, and that he was not prepared for the three expeditions he undertook from 1805 to 1807. Krickeberg claims that the value of the reports lies in the drawings of Luciano Castaneda, not on Dupaix's decriptive texts. However, Krickeberg goes even further to criticize Castaneda by saying that a few of the most sophisticated engravings, including a splendid view of the Palace at Palenque with gracefully blooming yucca and a strong impress of late eighteenth-century landscape, are signed by Aglio, Kingsborough's artist, and bear little resemblance to Castaneda's work. <ref name="American Anthropologist"{{cite book | title=American Anthropologist | last=Krickeberg | first=Walter | year=1970 |[1]}}</ref>

Further Research/Readings

• Lord Edward Kingsborough. "Antiquities of Mexico". 1831-48.
• Dupaix, Guillermo. "Expediciones, Acerca De Los Antiguos Monumentos De La Nueva Espana". 1805-1808.

References

1. American Philosophical Society (2002), Viages Sobre las Antiquedades Mejicanas, Philadelphia, PA{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) 2. Antiquities of Mexico. London. 1831–48. {{cite book}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Text "[2]" ignored (help); Unknown parameter |Last= ignored (|last= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: date format (link) 3. Antiquities of Mexico. London. 1831–48. {{cite book}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Text "[3]" ignored (help); Unknown parameter |Last= ignored (|last= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: date format (link) 4. Krickeberg, Walter (1970). American Anthropologist. {{cite book}}: Text "[4]" ignored (help)