WilhelmHistory

Marriage Alliance

Tlaxcalteca tecuhtli (lord) and his Totonaca wife, Tizatlan, Tlaxcallan, 1500

Tlaxcallan served as a hub of trade routes that stretched all over Mesoamerica, and just next door to Tlaxcallan was the coastal Totonacapan, the Totonaca people’s relam facing the Gulf of Mexico. As a result, the Gulf of Mexico and the Puebla-Tlaxcala Valley have been inextricably linked since the 7th~12th centuries, even before the Tlaxcallan republic was established.

Their ...

[WIP flat color] Marriage Alliance

Now with the characters! The overall color are based on Lienzo de Tlaxcala, Texas Fragment, and Codex Fejérváry-Mayer.

According to 16th century friar Bernardino de Sahagún, Totonaca's overall appearance was similar to the neighboring Huasteca. They both practiced cranial deformation and tattooing. The "tattoo" on this woman is based on various stamps from pre-Hispanic Veracruz.

Althou...

[WIP background] Marriage Alliance

I finished the background of this month's illustration.

The murals are based on late Postclassic (1250-1520) murals discovered in Tizatlan and Ocotelolco. The murals bear an striking resemblance to the famous 16th century ritual document known as Codex Borgia. The predominant color palette is red, yell...

Some private commissions

I don't normally accept commissions, but I needed money fast last week and received private commissions from my closest friends.

Šāhanšāh Khosraw II and Šahbānū Shirin, Sassanid Persia, early 7th century

Gisaeng (기생, courtesan), Joseon Korea, early 19th centry

[WIP] Marriage Alliance

Tlaxcalteca tecuhtli (lord) and his Totonaca wife, Tizatlan, Tlaxcallan, 1500

The study that inspired this illustration is “Caminos de arena y sangre. Los conflictos armados mexica-tlaxcalteca por las rutas de intercambio hacia el centro-sur de la...

Sharing is Caring

Citlalin invites her friend to share Xochimazatl's massive corncob!

Pink fox Denisse belongs to Crackiepipe

Far Away From Home

Mexica cavalryman and Spanish footsoldier, Pensacola Bay, Florida, August 1559

Tristán de Luna y Arellano (1510~1573) was a Spanish conquistador who was dispatched to colonize Florida in 1559. In August, he established the first substantial European settlement in the continental United States, at modern-day Pensacola.

Luna's fleet consisted of eleven ships and over 1,500 soldiers and settlers, the majority of whom were indigenous Nahua people from Central Mexico....

[WIP] Gift art for Crackie Pipe

Citlalin invites her friend to share Xochimazatl's massive corncob!

Pink fox Denisse belongs to Crackiepipe 

Next month, I'll post a reference sheet and stories about my Mexica OCs Xochimazatl and Citlalin!

The Palace of Pleasure

Khalīfah al-Wathiq at the Ḥarīm, Samarra, Abbasid Caliphate, 842

Al-Wāthiq was the 9th Abbasid caliph, reigning from 842 to 847. Al-Wathiq is one of the lesser-known Abbasid caliphs. According to the Encyclopaedia of Islam, "his brief reign was not distinguished by remarkable events". The caliphate flourished as usual, particularly at the new capital of Samarra. Al-Wathiq is said to have been generous to the poor and to have reduced taxes on maritime tra...

[WIP flat color] Abbasid Harem

The murals of the Jawsaq al-Khāqānī palace at Samarra served as the primary inspiration for this drawing. The most noticeable feature is bare-breasted dancers, which bears a strong resemblence with the art of the prior Umayyad period (661-750). In the murals, the dancers are wearing only a skirt and a sash. However, this was not a conventional fashion of the Abbasid woman.

2023-05-18 16:43:26 +0000 UTC View Post

May 2023 Mexica tier Request

Sources for each characters are listed below.

Anyknown: España, 1480

· Pedro García de Benabarre, "Retablo de San Juan"

· 글림자, “유럽 복식 문화와 역사 1”, 2019

Gabriele Bianchetti: Iceland, 1320

· 14th century woman's dress from Herjolfsnes burial (Nørlund no.38), Greenland

· 14th century woman's dress from Uvdal burial, Norway

· Marianne Vadeler, 'Medieval Clothing in Uvdal...

History of the "Lienzo de Tlaxcala"

There are so many codices related to "Lienzo de Tlaxcala" that it causes a lot of confusion. So I made this infographic about their history and relationships.

Because it is purely educational material, I have already shared this on Twitter. However, the one uploaded here is an uncompressed PNG file!

[WIP] Abbasid Harem

Khalīfah at the Ḥarīm, Samarra, Abbasid Caliphate, mid 9th century

I've worked on this illustration since April because there are so many characters! The main inspiration for this drawing is the colorful murals of the Jawsaq al-Khāqānī palace. The mural depicts the pleasures of court life, including the colorful dresses, bare-breasted dancers, and court girls pouring wine into the bowl. Contrary to the normal belief that Islam completely prohibited the d...

[WIP] Early Colonial New Spain

Mexica cavalryman and Spanish footsoldier, late 16th century

Contrary to normal belief, the Mesoamerican army and military culture largely survived after the conquest. Even the famous Mexica army of Tenochtitlan continued to operate after the Empire's fall. When invading Guatemala (1523-1527), Pedro Alvarado led thousands of indigenous armies. The army was primarily made up of Mexica and Tlaxcalteca peoples. Ironically, the Tlaxcalteca, who were instrumental in overthro...

Allure of the Sea

Maya lady from the eastern coast of Yucatán, 15~16th century

The Maya civilization prospered for thousands of years by adapting to a variety of geographical conditions, from the humid lowlands of the Yucatán Peninsula to the chilly highlands of Guatemala. The coastal Maya also thrived for a long time with fishing and trading. 

It was this eastern coast of Yucatán where the Spanish conquistadors first arrived on their way to the mainland. In 1518, following...

[WIP 2] Late Postclassic Maya Lady

This is the final WIP before posting the finished drawing. I had refined the clothing, tattoo, and the background. This was supposed to be a simple one-character pinup with no background, but I got carried away while drawing it!

Her skirt's stepped fret pattern is based on Codex Madrid, and her top's flower pattern is based on Codex Dresden. Because most of the clothes depicted in these codices...

[WIP] Late Postclassic Maya Lady

Late Postclassic period (1250~1697) Maya lady from the coastal region of Campeche. I intended to draw her topless, but ended up drawing her in several outfits. When drawing these, Daniel Parada's research on Postclassic lowland Maya fashion came in handy. He is a great artist so I highly recommend supporting him! I also double-checked the original sources I could find, such as Diego de Landa's "Relación de las cosas d...

Thank you for your support!

I hope this Patreon works well to keep making me draw more art for everyone. Here are the detailed tier rewards for now. I will tweak here and there (make a new tier and rewards, etc.)when the supporters become substantial enough, but this is the current one.

Chichimeca tier $5

· One month early access to my history drawings. As for my drawings, I will eventually post everything on my Twitter main account (@ohs688). However, Patreon su...

Patreon tier images

Chichimeca ($5), Tolteca ($10), Mexica ($20), Tenochca ($40?) tier.

Tenochca tier will be opened when the Patreon donations become substantial enough! (About $300 a month?)