The Dresden Codex is a pre-Hispanic Mayan manuscript circa the 11th century;
it was made from the inner bark of the wild fig tree or ”Amatl” (Ficus Cotinifolia). Up to 1853, it was identified as a Mayan manuscript. The Dresden Codex is the most elaborate of the codices, and also a highly important specimen of Mayan art.

According to some historians, The Dresden Codex was found in one of the largest Mayan cities that flourishes from Yucatan in Mexico to Guatemala, to San Salvador and Honduras and was supposedly sent to Vienna in 1519 to the Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria Charles V (Carlos I of Spain and V of Germany) (1500-1558) as an example of native art and a tribute to the King.

In 1739, Johann Christian Gotze, Director of the Royal Library of Dresden (Germany), purchased the codex from a private owner in Vienna, Austria. In 1744, it was acquired by the Royal Library of Dresden, to which it owes its name.

Actually, The Dresden Codex is now located at the museum of the Saxon State Library in Dresden, (The library’s current name is the Sächsische Landesbibliothek).

This exceptional manuscript is a key document that helped scientists in the research of this great civilization.