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Mexica Featherwork Art

Type Object Region Mexico Time 1530–1540

Mexica (Aztec) featherwork art inlaid feathers of rare birds such as the quetzal and hummingbird onto wooden frames or cotton cloth, forming shields,…

Timeline

  1. c. 1531–1535Mexico City · Mexico CityAfter the Spanish conquest, Mexica featherwork workshops continued operating in colonial cities; indigenous artisans produced shields, headdresses, and cloaks for the church, administrative institutions, and European visitors, still using the Aztec collage-inlay technique.
  2. c. 1536–1540New Spain · MexicoIn the mid-to-late 1530s, featherwork shields and headdresses were shipped to Spain and European courts as New World curiosities, becoming important categories of ethnographic collection and religious furnishing, while also reflecting the continuation and adaptation of indigenous craft within the colonial order.

Sources