Guillermo Dupaix, Viages sobre las antiquedades mejicanas
1805-1807
(2 vols.)

913.72 D92v

© American Philosophical Society
105 South Fifth Street * Philadelphia, PA 19106-3386
 American Philosophical Society 105 South Fifth Street Philadelphia, PA 19106-3386
Table of contents Abstract
Born in Austro-Hungary in either 1748 or 1750, Guillermo Dupaix became one of the first Europeans to observe and describe the archaeological riches of Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Yucatan. Between 1805 and 1807, he lead three Royal expeditions to survey major Mexican archaeological sites, working in close concert with Jose Luciano Castañeda, an artist with the National Museum. Among the sites they visited were the Mayan ruins at Palenque, the Zapotec/Mixtec site at Mitla, and several Aztec sites.

The APS version of Viages Sobre las Antiquedades Mejicanas is one of several contemporary manuscript copies of Dupaix's seminal work on Mexican archaeology. The work consists of two volumes, the first containing the text, the second, copies of Castañeda's illustrations, which here lack the distortions introduced in King's edition.
Background note
Born in Austro-Hungary in either 1748 or 1750, Guillermo Dupaix became one of the first Europeans to observe and describe the archaeological riches of Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Yucatan. As captain of the Regiment of Dragones de Almansa, Dupaix arrived in Mexico in 1791 and served for almost a decade. Between 1805 and 1807, he lead three Royal expeditions to survey major Mexican archaeological sites, working in close concert with Jose Luciano Castañeda, an artist with the National Museum. Among the sites they visited were the Mayan ruins at Palenque, the Zapotec/Mixtec site at Mitla, and several Aztec sites.

During his surveys, Dupaix was arrested under suspicion of being a revolutionary, and although he was acquitted, the charges brought his work to a halt. It took years for the results of his surveys and Castañeda's elegant illustrations to reach publication. Edward King, Lord Kingsborough, published a selection from Dupaix's account in 1831, however he introduced a number of distortions into Castañeda's drawings, making them look more Egyptian or Hebraic. In 1834, a more comprehensive, two volume edition appeared in France under the direction of Henri Baradère as Antiquités Mexicaines Relation des Trois Expéditions du Capitaine Dupaix, Ordonnés en 1805, 1806 et 1807.


Scope and content
The APS version of Viages Sobre las Antiquedades Mejicanas is one of several contemporary manuscript copies of Guillermo Duapix's seminal work on Mexican archaeology. The work consists of two volumes, the first containing the text, the second, copies of Castañeda's illustrations, which here lack the distortions introduced in King's edition.

The first volume is divided into ten sections, most of which are signed by Dupaix at the end (possibly in facsimile), and most of which were published in the King edition of 1831. These include:
Primera Expedicion, en al año de 1805 16p. King, vol. 5, 209-225.
Descripcion de las Mistodas, alta y baxa, 2a Expn., 1806. Borrador 2o. 65p. King, vol. 5, 227-246.
Descripcion de Monte Alvan, ó Borrador, 2a Expn. 12p. King, vol. 5, 247-251.
Descripcion de los Monumentos antiguos de Sn. Pablo Mitlan, 2s Expn., 1806 37p. King, vol. 5, 253-268.
Descripcion de Guiláâ, Zachila y Quilápa. 32p. King, vol. 5, 269-278.
Descripcion de Tepeyacac, Puebla y Tlaxcálan, 2a. Expn. 21p.
Tlaxcala y Puebla 18p. King, vol. 5, 285-294.
Palenque (2o al 3a viage perteniente al Palenque). 40p. King, vol. 5, 294-321.
Suplementa de la Descripcion del Palenque 27p. King, vol. 5, 340-343.
El Monumento Mejicano antiguo q. se haya en el angulo suroeste del Simenterio de Catedral... 6p.

Administrative information
Restrictions
None.

Provenance
Gift of Joel Roberts Poinsett, 1830.

Preferred citation
Cite as: Guillermo Dupaix, Viages Sobre las Antiquedades Mejicanas, American Philosophical Society.

Processing information
Recatalogued by rsc, 2004.

Other finding aids
The Dupaix volumes are indexed and briefly described in the On-line Guide to American Indian Manuscripts at the APS (entry 2140).

Additional information
Related material
The Benson Latin American Collection, General Libraries, University of Texas at Austin contains a small collection of Guillermo Dupaix Papers.

References
King, Edward, Viscount Kingsborough, Antiquities of Mexico, 6 vols. (London, 1831).

Baradère, Henri, Antiquités Mexicaines Relation des Trois Expéditions du Capitaine Dupaix, Ordonnés en 1805, 1806 et 1807, 2 vols. (Paris: Jules Didot, 1833-34) Call no.: 913.72 B23a v.1, 2.

Antiquités Mexicaines Relation des Trois Expéditions du Capitaine Dupaix, Ordonnés en 1805, 1806 et 1807 [Prospectus] [Broadside] Call no.: 973 C683 no.271.

Antiquités Mexicaines Relation des Trois Expéditions du Capitaine Dupaix, Ordonnés en 1805, 1806 et 1807 [Prospectus] [Broadside] Call no.: Pam. Vol. 3, no. 27.

Antiquities of Mexico (London: Havell, 1831) Call no.: 913.72 K58 v.1-9.

Added entries
Subjects
  • Archaeology--Mexico
  • Aztecs--Antiquities
  • Ethnology--Mexico
  • Mayas--Antiquities
  • Mexico--Antiquities
  • Mitla Site (Mexico)--Antiquities
  • Mixtec Indians--Antiquities
  • Palenque (Chiapas, Mexico)

    • Contributors
  • Castaneda, Jose Luciano
  • Dupaix, Guillermo, 1748 or 1750-1817

    • Genre terms
  • Pen works
  • Watercolors

    		•
    Contact information
    American Philosophical Society
    105 South Fifth Street
    Philadelphia, PA 19106-3386

    [http://www.amphilsoc.org/]

    ©2002