Cotador maior i tezorero, by Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala

Part of El primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno, Cotador maior i tezorero is a fine-line image created by Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala as part of a chapter that discusses Incas and their day-to-day activities and social ordering. This image approaches the subject through an economic lens, focusing on an important individual in the Inca society: the Cotador maior i tezorero (or Chief Accountant and Head of Treasury, in corporate terms).

Similarly to our days, cotadores in Inca societies were responsible for keeping track of wealth produced and stored across the empire. To do so, they were aided by quipus, a sophisticated communication and information tool composed of a series of lines and knots, which we'd find centuries later expressed information primarily in terms of numbers. The quipus were made either from llama or alpaca wool (fun!) or cotton (not as fun), and had different colors for different branches of the government, for example. If the Incas were able to prioritize and classify items, I'm sure you can deal with your email inbox.

The painting shows the chief accountant as its main character. Apart from his figure, our attention is automatically drawn by the quipu in his hands. By his side, there's a series of squares similar to domino pieces, which expresses his mathematical and counting responsibilities.

Size conversion table

A4: 8.3" x 11.7" ≈ 21cm x 30cm

A3: 11.7" x 16.5" ≈ 30cm x 40cm

A2: 16.5" x 23.4" ≈ 40cm x 60cm

A1: 23.4" x 33.1" ≈ 60cm x 84cm