Boxer Codex

The Boxer Codex does not bear any direct statement of authorship or dates of production and there is no dedication that might indicate who was the patron of the work or for whom the work was intended. Its contents indicate that it was written in Manila in the early 1590s. The manuscript was likely compiled at the direction of Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas, the Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines, or his son, Luis Pérez Dasmariñas. The Boxer Codex depicts the Tagalogs, Visayans, Zambals, Cagayanes or possibly Ibanags, and Negritos of the Philippines in vivid color. The paintings' technique and the use of Chinese paper, ink, and paints suggests that the artist may have been Chinese. It is believed that the original owner of the manuscript was Luis Pérez Dasmariñas, son of Governor General Gómez Pérez Dasmariñas, the Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines. Luis succeeded his father in office as governor-general. Since Spanish colonial governors kept extensive written reports of the territories they governed, it is likely that the manuscript was written on the governor's orders. The manuscript's earliest known modern owner was Lord Ilchester. The codex was among what remained in his collection when his estate, Holland House in London, was bombed on September 27, 1940, during the Blitz. It was auctioned in 1947 and came into the possession of Charles Ralph Boxer, an authority on the Far East, and whom it is named. It is now owned by the Lilly Library at Indiana University.

(All captions below based on source) • Illustration — A Lady from the Cagayan Valley (Possibly Ibanag) • Illustration — Warrior from Cagayan Valley (Possibly Ibanag) • Illustration — Couple with tied long hair and Kampilan hilt from Taimei Anchorage, Lingayen Gulf, Luzon, Philippines (Possibly Pangasinense) • Illustration — Zambal hunters from Zambales • Illustration — Zambal hunters hunting • Illustration — A couple belonging to the Zambal warrior-hunter class. The image shows a culture of falconry • Illustration — Aeta or Negrito hunters • Illustration — Tagalog royalty in red (the distinctive color of his class) with his wife. • Illustration — Tagalog royal couple in red, the distinctive color of their class. • Illustration — Tagalog maginoo (noble class) wearing blue (the distinctive color of his class) with his wife. • Illustration — Tagalog common women wearing simple clothes and headscarves (likely Muslims from Maynila in the 1500s) • Illustration — Visayan kadatuan (royal) couple • Illustration — Visayan kadatuan (royal) holding a Khanda sword, alongside his wife wearing red, the distinctive color of their class. • Illustration — A Pintado (Possibly Cebuano or Waray) couple of the timawa or tumao (martial-feudal class; later demoted to freedman status) • Illustration — Pintados (Possibly Cebuano or Waray) from Bohol, showing their patok or tattoos • Illustration — Native Visayan uripon (slaves) adorned with gold.

(All captions below based on source) • Illustration — "Tatar" (Mongol) noble with wife from Tartary (Mongolia) • Illustration — Emperor and empress of Ming dynasty China • Illustration — Noble prince and consort from Ming dynasty China alt=Noble prince and consort from Ming dynasty China: 556 • Illustration — Mandarin bureaucrat with wife from Ming dynasty • Illustration — Ming dynasty Chinese general with attendant • Illustration — Han Chinese "Sangley" couple living in Manila, Philippines wearing hanfu from Ming dynasty • Illustration — Another Sangley couple alt=Another Sangley couple: 552 • Illustration — She Chinese merchant with wife from Ming dynasty China • Illustration — alt=Japanese samurai couple wearing yukata with the woman's hair styled in Chinese fashion: 32 Japanese samurai couple wearing yukata with the woman's hair styled in Chinese fashion • Illustration — Vietnamese noble with wife from Tonkin, Đại Việt (Vietnam) under either the Mạc dynasty or Lê dynasty at that time • Illustration — alt=Labelled as a Vietnamese warrior with woman from Tonkin, Đại Việt (Vietnam), but the man is instead depicted as a nụy khấu: 32 Labelled as a Vietnamese warrior with woman from Tonkin, Đại Việt (Vietnam), but the man is instead depicted as a nụy khấu • Illustration — Vietnamese noble with wife from Quảng Nam, Đại Việt (Vietnam) under the Nguyễn lords at the time. • Illustration — Cham couple from Champa (in modern-day Ninh Thuận, Southern Vietnam) • Illustration — Siamese (Thai) warrior with wife from Siam (Thailand) • Illustration — Khmer couple from Kampuchea (Cambodia) • Illustration — Taiwanese aboriginal headhunter couple from Keelung, Spanish Formosa (in modern-day Taiwan) • Illustration — Taiwanese aboriginal headhunter couple from Tamsui, Spanish Formosa (in modern-day Taiwan) • Illustration — Chamorro hunter from Marianas Islands (Guam/Northern Marianas) with spear • Illustration — Chamorro hunter from Marianas Islands (Guam/Northern Marianas) with bow • Illustration — Javanese warrior with musket and swords alt=Javanese warrior with musket and swords: 431 • Illustration — Javanese warrior with a spear and shield from "Iaua" (modern-day Java, Indonesia) alt=Javanese warrior with a spear and shield from "Iaua" (modern-day Java, Indonesia): 432 • Illustration — Malay couple from the Terangganu Sultanate (in modern-day Malaysia) • Illustration — Patani couple alt=Patani couple: 550 • Illustration — Bruneian warrior with wife • Illustration — Sangirese warriors from Siau Island, Sangir Archipelago (in modern-day North Sulawesi, Indonesia) • Illustration — Moluccan warrior from the Moluccas (in modern-day Maluku Islands, Indonesia) • Illustration — Moluccan noble woman alt=Moluccan noble woman: 427