Florentine Codex Book 9

1) Sixteenth chapter. Here is told how the craftsmen who cast precious metals fashioned their wares.
’And when the channel [for the gold] has been set in, once more [the mold] is arranged [in] something like a crucible where the gold is [to be] cast. When they are this far, when all is prepared, then [the mold] is placed on the fire; it is thoroughly heated. Then flows out burning the beeswax [model] which has been placed within it. When the beeswax has come forth, when it has burned, then [the mold] is cooled, for which purpose it is once more set out over sand, quite coarse sand. Then immediately the casting takes place; there [the mold] enters the “fire pot” [a charcoal brazier] on a charcoal [fire]; and the gold, which is to enter there [into the mold], is melted separately in a ladle [and poured].’ -----

2) Seventeenth chapter. Here are discussed the lapidaries who worked precious stones.
’The master lapidaries cut rock crystal, and amethysts, and green stones, and emerald-green jade, with abrasive sand, and hard metal. And they scraped them with a worked flint tool. And they drilled them; they bored them with a metal tubular drill. Then they slowly smoothed the surfaces; they polished them; they gave them a metallic lustre. And then they finished them off with a piece of wood [and very fine abrasive]. They polished them so that they gleamed, they sent forth rays of light, they glistened.’
’And what is called blood-[speckled] flint [bloodstone - a variety of quartz] is very hard and resistant. It could not be cut with abrasive sand, but could only be broken up, beaten with a stone; and its rough pieces, which were no good, which could not be polished, were cast away...’ -----

3) Twenty-first chapter. Here it is told how those of Amantlan, the ornamenters, performed their task.
’The feather workers, who painted with feathers, who rejoiced in feather [work], thus began their creations. First of all, they saw, by the pattern, how they would make it. They who first drew it were the scribes.
’When they had seen how it was designed, that it was well done, that the painting was sufficiently detailed, then on a maguey leaf they reinforced cotton: they strengthened it with glue. They called this the reinforcement of cotton.
’They sought a good [maguey leaf], of smooth, shiny surface, with no knobs; and even, not raised or depressed. On it they reinforced the cotton.
First they put glue on the surface; with their hands they covered the surface with glue.’ -----

‘Then on this they laid, they stretched out, they pressed down the carded cotton. First they carded it well; they stretched it repeatedly; they thinned it out. When this was just like a cobweb, like a mist, they pressed it down upon the maguey leaf, and set it out in the sun. Only a little did the surface dry. When the surface had dried, once again they spread glue on the surface, thereby making the surface of the cotton glossy, shiny. So no more was to be carded, since the glue was well hardened in it.
’And when it had dried, when it crackled with is dryness, then it was peeled off. Then [the cotton] was spread, placed on the painted pattern. On [the cotton] was painted, delineated, on it one went tracing, the painting which appeared from underneath...’ -----

‘And when the paper pattern had in all parts been trimmed to be like the [original] painting, then it was spread out upon a maguey leaf; on this was traced the pattern which had been cut.
’When the maguey had been painted, then it was covered with glue; cotton was applied to it; thereby the [second] reinforcement of cotton was strengthened with glue. The outline of the painting was put on it. Again it dried in the sun. Later, upon it were placed, one by one, the feathers called “the glue-hardened ones”, those which had been glued, dried.