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Mexican featherwork, also called "plumería", was an important artistic and decorative technique in the
pre-Hispanic In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...
and colonial periods in what is now
Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
. Although feathers have been prized and feather works created in other parts of the world, those done by the ''amanteca'' or feather work specialists impressed Spanish conquerors, leading to a creative exchange with Europe.
Featherwork Featherwork is the working of feathers into a work of art or cultural artifact. This was especially elaborate among the peoples of Oceania and the Americas, such as the Incas and Aztecs. Feathered cloaks and headdresses include the '' ʻahuʻula ...
pieces took on European motifs in Mexico. Feathers and feather works became prized in Europe. The "golden age" for this technique as an art form was from just before the Spanish conquest to about a century afterwards. At the beginning of the 17th century, it began a decline due to the death of the old masters, the disappearance of the birds that provide fine feathers and the depreciation of indigenous handiwork. Feather work, especially the creation of "mosaics" or "paintings" principally of religious images remained noted by Europeans until the 19th century, but by the 20th century, the little that remained had become a handcraft, despite efforts to revive it. Today, the most common feather objects are those made for traditional dance costumes, although mosaics are made in the state of
Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...
, and feather trimmed
huipil ''Huipil'' (Nahuatl: '' huīpīlli'' ; Ch'orti': ''b’ujk''; Chuj: ''nip'') is the most common traditional garment worn by indigenous women from central Mexico to Central America. It is a loose-fitting tunic, generally made from two or three re ...
s are made in the state of
Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil and Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 124 municipalities ...
.


Mesoamerican featherwork

The use of feather for decorative purposes has been documented in many parts of the world in the past. In the
New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...
, it is known to have had ceremonial use and ranking purposes, especially in attire in what are now
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
.Castello Yturbide, p. 18Meneses, p. 22 In
Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. Wit ...
, their use became highly developed with some of the most intricate examples coming from what is now central Mexico.Castello Yturbide, p. 17 One reason for this was their symbolic and religious use.Meneses, p. 19 Much of this symbolism arose with the spread of the worship of the
Toltec The Toltec culture () was a pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture that ruled a state centered in Tula, Hidalgo, Mexico, during the Epiclassic and the early Post-Classic period of Mesoamerican chronology, reaching prominence from 950 to 1150 CE. T ...
god/king
Quetzalcoatl Quetzalcoatl (, ; Spanish: ''Quetzalcóatl'' ; nci-IPA, Quetzalcōātl, ket͡saɬˈkoːaːt͡ɬ (Modern Nahuatl pronunciation), in honorific form: ''Quetzalcōātzin'') is a deity in Aztec culture and literature whose name comes from the Nah ...
, depicted as a serpent covered in
quetzal Quetzals () are strikingly colored birds in the trogon family. They are found in forests, especially in humid highlands, with the five species from the genus ''Pharomachrus'' being exclusively Neotropical, while a single species, the eared q ...
feathers. Quetzalcoatl was said to have discovered gold, silver and precious stones. When he fled
Tula Tula may refer to: Geography Antarctica *Tula Mountains * Tula Point India * Tulā, a solar month in the traditional Indian calendar Iran * Tula, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province Italy * Tula, Sardinia, municipality (''comune'') in the ...
, he released all kind of birds he was breeding.Castello Yturbide, p. 17Castello Yturbide, p. 33 The Aztec main god, Huitzilopochtli, is associated with the
hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are ...
. His origin is from ball of fine feathers that fell on his mother, Coatlicue, and impregnated her. He was born fully armed with an eagle feather shield, fine plumage in his head and on his left sandal.Russo, p. 3 Feathers were valued similarly to
jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group ...
and
turquoise Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone and ornamental stone for thousands of year ...
in Mesoamerica. They were considered to have magical properties as symbols of fertility, abundance, riches and power and those who used them were associated with divine powers.Castello Yturbide, p. 27 Evidence of use goes back at least as far as the
Mayas The Maya peoples () are an ethnolinguistic group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica. The ancient Maya civilization was formed by members of this group, and today's Maya are generally descended from people ...
, with depictions of them on the murals at
Bonampak Bonampak (known anciently as ''Ak'e'' or, in its immediate area as ''Usiij Witz'', 'Vulture Hill') is an ancient Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Chiapas. The site is approximately south of the larger site of the people Yaxchilan, ...
. The Mayans also raised birds in part for feathers.Castello Yturbide, p. 82Castello Yturbide, p. 19 Toltec groups were making feathered items from black and white feathers of local origin. The most developed use of feathers in Mesoamerica was among the
Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...
s,
Tlaxcaltec The Tlaxcalans, or Tlaxcaltecs, are a Nahua people who live in the Mexican state of Tlaxcala. Pre-Columbian history The Tlaxcaltecs were originally a conglomeration of three distinct ethnic groups who spoke Nahuatl, Otomi, and Pinome that compr ...
s and Purepecha. Feathers were used to make many types of objects from arrows, fly whisks, fans, complicated headdresses and fine clothing.Castello Yturbide, p. 238 By the reign of the Aztec ruler
Ahuizotl Ahuitzotl ( nah, āhuitzotl, ) was the eighth Aztec ruler, the ''Huey Tlatoani'' of the city of Tenochtitlan, son of princess Atotoztli II. His name literally means "Water Thorny" and was also applied to the otter. It is also theorized that mor ...
, richer feathers from tropical areas came to the
Aztec Empire The Aztec Empire or the Triple Alliance ( nci, Ēxcān Tlahtōlōyān, �jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ was an alliance of three Nahua city-states: , , and . These three city-states ruled that area in and around the Valley of Mexi ...
with quetzal and the finest feathers used by Moctezuma's reign. Feathers were used for ceremonial shields, and the garments of Aztec eagle warriors were completely covered in feathers. Feather work dressed idols and priests as well.Castello Yturbide, p. 20 Moctezuma asked the Purépecha for help against the Spanish by sending gifts that included quetzal feathers. Among the Purépecha, feathers were used similarly, for ceremonial shields, bucklers, doublets for the cazonci or ruler and feather ceremonial garments for priests, warriors and generals. To declare war, the Purépecha showed enemies wood covered in feathers and send highly prized green feathers to allies and potential allies. Soldiers who died in war were buried with feathers.Castello Yturbide, p. 143Castello Yturbide, p. 81 Feathers from local and faraway sources were used, especially in the Aztec Empire. The feathers were obtained from wild birds as well as from domesticated turkeys and ducks, with the finest feathers coming from Chiapas,
Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...
and
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
.Castello Yturbide, pp. 27, 35 These feathers were obtained through trade and tribute.Castello Yturbide, p. 35 Feathers functioned as a kind of currency along with cocoa beans, and were a popular trade item because of their value and ease of transport over long distances and a close relationship developed between traders and feather workers.Castello Yturbide, pp. 33–36 Certain areas were required to pay tribute in raw feathers and other in finished feather goods, but no area was required to provide both.Castello Yturbide, p. 65
Cuetzalan Cuetzalan () is a small town set high in the hills in the north of the Mexican state of Puebla, from Puebla, the state capital. Franciscan friars founded the town in 1547. Overview Cuetzalan is located in the Sierra Norte region. The climat ...
paid tribute to Moctezuma in the form of quetzal feathers. This demand was so great that it led to the local extinction of quetzals in that region, leaving only the name of a local tree, ''quetzalcuahuitl'', where the birds used to hide to eat.Castello Yturbide, pp. 196–196 The most important of feathers in central Mexico were the long green feathers of the
resplendent quetzal The resplendent quetzal (''Pharomachrus mocinno'') is a small bird found in southern Mexico and Central America, with two recognized subspecies, ''P. m. mocinno'' and ''P. m. costaricensis''. These animals live in tropical forests, particularly ...
which were reserved for deities and the emperor. One reason for their rarity was that quetzals could not be domesticated as they died in captivity. Instead wild birds were caught, plucked and released.Castello Yturbide, p. 28 Other tropical birds were used as well.
Bernardino de Sahagún Bernardino de Sahagún, OFM (; – 5 February 1590) was a Franciscan friar, missionary priest and pioneering ethnographer who participated in the Catholic evangelization of colonial New Spain (now Mexico). Born in Sahagún, Spain, in 1499, ...
made a list of the species used for fine feathers, many of which are now either
threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of '' critical depe ...
or locally extinct. These include the mountain trogon, lovely cotinga,
roseate spoonbill The roseate spoonbill (''Platalea ajaja'') is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America. Taxonomy The roseate spoonbill is sometimes placed in its own ...
,
squirrel cuckoo The squirrel cuckoo (''Piaya cayana'') is a large and active species of cuckoo found in wooded habitats from northwestern Mexico to northern Argentina and Uruguay, and on Trinidad. Some authorities have split off the western Mexican form as the M ...
,
red-legged honeycreeper The red-legged honeycreeper (''Cyanerpes cyaneus'') is a small songbird species in the tanager family (Thraupidae). It is found in the tropical New World from southern Mexico south to Peru, Bolivia and central Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, and on ...
,
emerald toucanet The emerald toucanet (''Aulacorhynchus prasinus'') is a species of near-passerine bird in the toucan family Ramphastidae. It is found from Mexico to Nicaragua. Taxonomy and systematics The emerald toucanet was originally described in the ...
,
agami heron The agami heron (''Agamia agami'') is a medium-sized heron. It is a resident breeding bird from Central America south to Peru and Brazil. It is sometimes known as the chestnut-bellied heron, and is the only member of the genus ''Agamia''. In Bra ...
,
russet-crowned motmot The russet-crowned motmot (''Momotus mexicanus'') is a species of motmot native to north-western Mexico and central Guatemala. It is a year-round resident of the tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests and scrubland. The russet-crowned mot ...
,
turquoise-browed motmot The turquoise-browed motmot (''Eumomota superciliosa'') also known as torogoz, is a colourful, medium-sized bird of the motmot family, Momotidae. It inhabits Central America from south-east Mexico (mostly the Yucatán Peninsula), to Costa Rica, ...
,
blue grosbeak The blue grosbeak (''Passerina caerulea''), is a medium-sized North American passerine bird in the cardinal family Cardinalidae. It is mainly migratory, wintering in Central America and breeding in northern Mexico and the southern United States. ...
,
golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird ...
,
great egret The great egret (''Ardea alba''), also known as the common egret, large egret, or (in the Old World) great white egret or great white heron is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, an ...
,
military macaw The military macaw (''Ara militaris'') is a large parrot and a medium-sized macaw that gets its name from its predominantly green plumage resembling a military parade uniform. It is native to forests of Mexico and South America and though conside ...
,
scarlet macaw The scarlet macaw (''Ara macao'') is a large red, yellow, and blue Central and South American parrot, a member of a large group of Neotropical parrots called macaws. It is native to humid evergreen forests of the Neotropics. Its range extends from ...
,
yellow-headed amazon The yellow-headed amazon (''Amazona oratrix''), also known as the yellow-headed parrot and double yellow-headed amazon, is an endangered amazon parrot of Mexico and northern Central America. Measuring in length, it is a stocky short-tailed gree ...
,
Montezuma oropendola The Montezuma oropendola (''Psarocolius montezuma'') is a New World tropical icterid bird. It is a resident breeder in the Caribbean coastal lowlands from southeastern Mexico to central Panama, but is absent from El Salvador and southern Guatemal ...
and the over 53 species of hummingbird found in Mexico.Castello Yturbide, p. 207Castello Yturbide, p. 235 In Aztec society, the class that created feather objects was called the amanteca, named after the Amantla neighborhood in
Tenochtitlan , ; es, Tenochtitlan also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, ; es, México-Tenochtitlan was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear. The date 13 March 1325 was ...
where they lived and worked.Castello Yturbide, p. 14 The amanteca had their own god, Coyotlinahual, who had companions called Tizaua, Mamiocelotl and Mamiltochtli. They also honored the female deities Xiuhtlati and Xilo.Castello Yturbide, p. 56Meneses, p. 18 Daughters of amanteca generally became embroiderers and feather dyers, with the boys dedicated to the making of feather objects. The amanteca were a privileged class of craftsmen. They did not pay tribute nor were required to perform public service. They had a fair amount of autonomy in how they ran their businesses. Feather work was so highly prized that even sons of nobility learned something of it during their education.Castello Yturbide, p. 57 The sophistication of this art can be seen in pieces created before the
Conquest Conquest is the act of military subjugation of an enemy by force of arms. Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast areas of the Indian subcontinent, ...
, some of which are part of the collection of the Museum of Ethnology in Vienna, such as
Montezuma's headdress Moctezuma's headdress is a featherwork headdress or military device ( nah, quetzalāpanecayōtl ) which tradition holds belonged to Moctezuma II, the Aztec emperor at the time of the Spanish conquest. However, its provenance is uncertain,Gonzále ...
, the ceremonial coat of arms and the great fan or fly whisk. Other important examples such as shields are in museums in Mexico City. The
Florentine Codex The ''Florentine Codex'' is a 16th-century ethnographic research study in Mesoamerica by the Spanish Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagún. Sahagún originally titled it: ''La Historia General de las Cosas de Nueva España'' (in English: ''Th ...
gives information about how feather works were created. The amantecas had two ways of creating their works. One was to secure the feathers in place using
agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some ''Agave'' species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for ...
cord for three-dimensional objects such as fly whisks, fans, bracelets, headgear and other objects. The second and more difficult was a mosaic type technique, which the Spanish also called "feather painting." These were done principally on feather shields and cloaks for idols.Russo, p. 25Castello Yturbide, p. 70 Feather mosaics were arrangements of minute fragments of feathers from a wide variety of birds, generally worked on a paper base, made from cotton and paste, then itself backed with
amate Amate ( es, amate from nah, āmatl ) is a type of bark paper that has been manufactured in Mexico since the precontact times. It was used primarily to create codices. Amate paper was extensively produced and used for both communication, record ...
paper, but bases of other types of paper and directly on amate were done as well.Russo, p. 5Castello Yturbide, p. 202 These works were done in layers with "common" feathers, dyed feathers and precious feathers. First a model was made with lower quality feathers and the precious feathers found only on the top layer. The adhesive for the feathers in the Mesoamerican period was made from orchid bulbs. Sometimes feathers were dyed, and sometimes fine lines or dots were painted on the feathers themselves.Castello Yturbide, p. 203 In some of the most precious of Aztec art, feathers were combined with gold and precious stones.Russo, p. 27 Feather art needs to be protected from light, which fades the colors and from insects that eat them. Preservatives were made with several kinds of plants, but today commercial insecticides are used.Castello Yturbide, pp. 202–203 One other way to use feathers was the creation of garments either decorated with feathers or with thread which was created by spinning cotton and feather shreds. The garments of eagle warriors were completely covered in feathers. Fabric made of the latter was favored by the nobility, both men and women which distinguished them from commoners. Little is known how feathers were incorporated into fabric in the Mesoamerican period.Castello Yturbide, p. 77 The only vestige of this practice is the making of wedding huipils in the town of
Zinacantán San Lorenzo Zinacantán () is a town in the southern part of the Central Chiapas highlands in the Mexican state of Zinacantán Municipality, Chiapas. 99.1% of its population is Tzotzil Maya, an indigenous people with linguistic and cultural ti ...
in Chiapas. Although research has shown this practice is descended from the Mesoamerican one, it is still different. The Mesoamerican feathered cloth was made with thread made of cotton fiber and feathers done on a backstrap loom, which the current wedding huipils incorporate feathers into commercially spun cotton thread.Meneses, p. 88


European discovery of featherwork

When the Spanish arrived to Mexico, they were impressed with the bird species of the land and the use of feather, with
Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...
receiving among his gifts feathers from Moctezuma. As early as 1519, Cortés sent feathered shields, head adornments, and fans to Spain. In 1524, Diego de Soto returned to Spain from the New World. Among the gifts for King Charles V was artwork, including that made with feathers, such as shields with scenes of sacrifice, serpents, butterflies, birds and crests. In 1527, Cortés sent thirty eight pieces of what are identified as feather work to Asia.Castello Yturbide, p. 11 After the Conquest, the art of working with feathers survived, but on a lesser scale and its uses changed. pagan ritual use ended with Christian evangelization, with some surviving works conveying Christian religious themes. Featherwork's use in war also remained. One type of feather work to remains strong was the creation of mosaics, many of which were created and sent to Europe, Guatemala and Peru.Castello Yturbide, p. 40 They were even sent as far as Asia as gifts but little is known of this trade.Castello Yturbide, p. 104 Exotic feathers themselves were exported to Europe and used to adorn hats, horses and clothing.Castello Yturbide, p. 40 The importance of feather work and the impression it made on the Spanish is documented by Spaniards such as Hernán Cortés, Francisco de Aguilar,
Bartolomé de las Casas Bartolomé de las Casas, OP ( ; ; 11 November 1484 – 18 July 1566) was a 16th-century Spanish landowner, friar, priest, and bishop, famed as a historian and social reformer. He arrived in Hispaniola as a layman then became a Dominican friar ...
,
Bernal Díaz del Castillo Bernal Díaz del Castillo ( 1492 – 3 February 1584) was a Spanish conquistador, who participated as a soldier in the conquest of the Aztec Empire under Hernán Cortés and late in his life wrote an account of the events. As an experience ...
,
Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés (August 14781557), commonly known as Oviedo, was a Spanish soldier, historian, writer, botanist and colonist. Oviedo participated in the Spanish colonization of the West Indies, arriving in the first few year ...
,
Francisco López de Gómara Francisco López de Gómara (February 2, 1511 - c. 1566) was a Spanish historian who worked in Seville, particularly noted for his works in which he described the early 16th century expedition undertaken by Hernán Cortés in the Spanish conques ...
, Peter Martyr, Fray
Bernardino de Sahagún Bernardino de Sahagún, OFM (; – 5 February 1590) was a Franciscan friar, missionary priest and pioneering ethnographer who participated in the Catholic evangelization of colonial New Spain (now Mexico). Born in Sahagún, Spain, in 1499, ...
and Andres de Tapia.Castello Yturbide, p. 12 Feathers add chromatic and luminous feathers difficult to create with paints, although oil painting at the time had well developed techniques to play with light. Mexican expertise was valued as well. Even though there was feather art also made in Asia, it was not as valued in the 16th and 17th century as that from Mexico.Castello Yturbide, p. 103


Featherwork with Christian themes

Feather work and the conquest led to a creative exchange from the conquest to about 1800.Russo, p. 6 Evangelism added Christian themes to feather work, including the making of ritual items. Amantecas were creating Christian religious images within months after the arrival of the conquistadors, destined for Europe as well as Asia. The first known Christian-inspired pictures in feather work were made for banners, on a cotton cloth with an
imprimatur An ''imprimatur'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''impr.'', from Latin, "let it be printed") is a declaration authorizing publication of a book. The term is also applied loosely to any mark of approval or endorsement. The imprimatur rule in the R ...
, on which the design was made. They had a backing of very fine palm or rush mats bound with twine or vegetable
liana A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a t ...
s. The Huejotzingo Codex depicts the making of a feather and gold banner, the first indication of feather work with Christian images.Castello Yturbide, p. 186 At first, feather work was suppressed by the Spanish as part of their efforts to eradicate the old religion. However, they soon changed tactics and employed the feather workers to create Christian images. These new works are called "feather mosaics" because of the small pieces of feathers used, and most are in the Baroque style then favored, as the artists copied images brought from Spain.Castello Yturbide, p. 21 After the Conquest, hummingbird feathers were used to adorn images of Christ in Michoacan, such as agave yarn sandals in hummingbird feathers made in Tzintzuntzan.Castello Yturbide, p. 145 Indian craftsmen made and offered crosses and candlesticks adorned with green feathers called quezalli.Castello Yturbide, p. 175 Small scale feather images and pendants serving as protective amulets were also made.Russo, p. 17 The 16th-century mosaics were made with different sized feathers combined with paper strips. Over the years, the feathers became smaller, the compositions more harmonious and the designs more subtle with the additions of gold leaf, gold foil and colored brushwork. The basic imagery was European but the edging shows traces of pre Hispanic designs.Castello Yturbide, p. 207-208 The iconography of feather art images focused on founders and patron saints, along with figures related to the various religious orders. These always followed the recommendations of the
Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...
and often to the dominant style.Castello Yturbide, p. 125 Feathered religious items were sent to Europe, including to several popes in Rome. A number of these were re-gifted to other nobles and for this reason can be found in various museums in various parts of Europe.Castello Yturbide, p. 21-22 Feather work became a popular item in the collection of kings, emperors, nobles, clergy, intellectuals and naturalists from the 16th to 18th century, with pieces reaching courts in Prague, Abras Castle, El Escorial and various other cities in Europe. Some even went as far as China, Japan and
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
.In addition to the images, feathers were used to adorn priests' clothing such as chasubles, rain capes and miters. They also made feather decorations for church altars and convents. Feathered miters and other vestments were sent and gifted to European bishops, especially in southern Europe and were used while conducting Mass. Although there are no written records to indicate that this use of feathered vestments were a result of Mexican influence, they did not appear until after the mid 16th-century.Castello Yturbide, p. 160 European engravings were used as a model for feather images created for miters which today can be still found in Milan, Florence and New York. However, these and other Christian images were not exact copies of the prints as elements from several prints were combined and even pre Hispanic motifs appeared in some. These miters served as an innovation in the pictorial language of the church as the vestments themselves added a kind of power through their magnificence.Russo, p. 19-20 Monastery schools in Mexico, especially those run by the Franciscans and Augustinians, taught feather work, especially the creation of feather mosaics.Castello Yturbide, p. 152 The skills of these artists remained important initially, even able to reproduce Latin calligraphy. One important example of this is "Sacras de Ambras" at the
Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum ( "Museum of Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, it is crowned with an octagonal d ...
. Here, black feathers are pasted over a ribbon of small white feathers. One particularly notable area of colonial feather working was in Patzcauaro, Michoacán. These workers maintained many of the ancient privileges of pre Hispanic feather workers.Castello Yturbide, pp. 147–152 Mesoamerican feather work inspired European works such as the Libro di piume (The Feather Book) by Dionisio Minaggio, the gardener to the governor of Milan, who learned the technique and created reproductions of birds in his regions, as well as portraits of the actors of the Commedia dell'arte.Russo, pp. 5–6 Other artists such as Tommaso Ghisi and Jacopo Ligozzi used the technique as well to create works for the collections of the Medicis, Aldrovandi, Settala and Rudolf II of Prague. Ulisse Aldrovandi described the creation of feather mosaics as a "threshold between art and science."Russo, p. 14


Featherwork 1600-1900

The "golden age" of Mexican feather work lasted until the very beginning of the 17th-century, when it declined because the old masters disappeared. At this time, demand for the work declined as well, because the Spanish began to disdain indigenous handcrafts and oil painting became preferred for the production of religious images.Castello Yturbide, p. 22 In the 17th-century, imagery done in feather work became more varied, including the
Virgin of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe ( es, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe ( es, Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions, which are believed t ...
and those from
European mythology Mythologies by region Africa *Bantu mythology Central Africa *Baluba mythology * Bushongo mythology * Kongo mythology * Lugbara mythology * Mbuti mythology East Africa * Dinka mythology * Kalenjin mythology *Lotuko mythology *Maasai mythology ...
, especially on fans for ladies.Castello Yturbide, p. 200Castello Yturbide, p. 128 Techniques changed to include a profusion of paper strips on mosaics, replacing the earlier use of gold trimmings.Castello Yturbide, p. 208 One image of the Virgin of Guadalupe is completely of feathers. While she is clothed in the usual way, the image lacks many of the decorations and symbols that are now standard. This may indicate that this is one of the first copies of the image. Another important 17th-century piece depicts the
Assumption of Mary The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it in 1950 in his apostolic constitution '' Munificentissimus Deus'' as follows: We proclaim and define it to be a dogma revealed by ...
, now in the Museum of the Americas in Madrid.Castello Yturbide, p. 130 More modification of the technique occurred in the 18th century, perhaps because it was no longer done only by the indigenous. Feather work was supplemented with the use of oil paint to depict people (especially faces and hands), landscapes and animals and tiny strips of paper were dropped along with the outer borders.Russo, p. 29 By the nineteenth century, the craft all but disappeared with only some limited activity in Michoacán. Many were done with cheap, dyed feathers, smaller works with little artistic value. They, however, still attracted attention from visitors to Mexico. In 1803,
Alexander von Humboldt Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister ...
visited
Pátzcuaro Pátzcuaro () is a city and municipality located in the state of Michoacán. The town was founded sometime in the 1320s, at first becoming the capital of the Purépecha Empire and later its ceremonial center. After the Spanish took over, Vasco de ...
and both a feather image of Our Lady of Health, which is now in a German museum. Her hands and face are in oil but the rest is in hummingbird feathers. Count Beltrani traveled in Mexico in 1830 and mentioned Michoacan feather work in his journals, obtaining two mosaics. Frances Calderon de la Barca, with of the first Spanish ambassador to Mexico, noted that the mosaics of saints and angels were crude in drawing but exquisite in coloring.Castello Yturbide, p. 209 The nuns at the Santa Rosa Convent in
Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
were noted for their feather work in the 19th century, with several notable works still in existence. In the mid-19th century,
lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
was introduced in Mexico and some prints were used as bases for feather work, which were then backed with sheet metal. In Puebla, this was a popular technique for folk figures such as the China Poblana.Castello Yturbide, p. 213 The last innovation in the craft was the use of photographs. One such work used a photograph of Juan Arriaga de Yturbe done by Monico Guzman Alvarez of Patzcuaro, done in 1895.Castello Yturbide, p. 214


Featherwork 1900-2000

By the 20th-century, feather work existed as a handcraft, rather than as art. One reason for this was that the disappearance of many bird species has led to a lack of fine feathers.Castello Yturbide, p. 221 In the first half of the century feather work images were almost exclusively of postcards or other informal forms, with images of cockfights or birds made with dyed chicken or turkey feathers.
Manuel Gamio Manuel Gamio (1883–1960) was a Mexican anthropologist, archaeologist, sociologist, and a leader of the '' indigenismo'' movement. Although he rejected full sovereignty for indigenous communities in Mexico, he argued that their self-governing or ...
tried to revive feather work's artistic nature. In 1920 he designed and supervised the creation of two mural panels, one with an Aztec serpent and the other with a Mayan serpent, copied from archeological pieces. It was done on black silk with quetzal feathers, gold, silver and silk threads. However, the fate of these works is not known. Similarly, garments made with feathers have also almost completely disappeared. The only vestige of this is the wedding huipil made by the Tzotzils in Zinacatlan, Chiapas. However, these have the feathers added to commercially made cotton thread, anchored to it as decoration. Thread spun with feathers is no longer made.Meneses, pp. 25–26 One other notable piece was a reproduction of the "Montezuma headdress" made for the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. In the latter 20th-century, a number of artists tried to bring back the technique as an art form. Painter and tapestry weaver Carmen Padin began researching the technique after hearing Fernando Gamboa lament its loss. From 1979 to 1981, she exhibited her work in various cities of Mexico which included robes, capes, shields and collages. However, she had to stop by the 1990s because of the difficulty of obtaining feathers. Josefina Ortega Salcedo became attracted to the technique after reading about it in the Artes de México magazine. She studied drawing and painting at the
Academy of San Carlos The Academy of San Carlos ( es, Academia de San Carlos) is located at 22 Academia Street in just northeast of the main plaza of Mexico City. It was the first major art academy and the first art museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1781 as th ...
with the goal of applying them to feather work. Her most valuable work in this medium includes several portraits, copied from photographs with precision. Her images are placed on a base of light-colored feathers with the images arranged using crepe paper cut outs and colored feathers. However, she, too, no longer works with this technique.Castello Yturbide, p. 222 Those who still continue to work with it include Elena Sanchez Garrido, who combines feather work and watercolors, and Tita Bilbaro who makes Aztec and modern style images using feathers, sand, fabric, leather, mirrors an sea shells. In the late 1980s she exhibited her work in Mexico City and several places in northern Mexico.Castello Yturbide, p. 225 One notable family that continues the technique as a handcraft is the Olay family. This tradition began when Gabriel Olay traveled with a mule train and hunted birds during his wanderings. Then an indigenous person taught him the basics of feather working. He developed his craft then passed it onto his children and grandchildren. Most of the family works on reproductions of pre Hispanic images. Son Gabriel Olay Olay has created a large body of work in the technique and lives in
Tlalpujahua Tlalpujahua (; formally Tlalpujahua de Rayón) is a town and municipality located in the far northeast of the state of Michoacán in central Mexico. It is a former mining town, home of the Dos Estrellas Mine, which was the leading producer of gold ...
, Michoacan. Four of his pieces are part of the collection of the Morelia Cultural Center and others in various museums in the state of Michoacan. His image of the Virgin of Guadalupe was given by Mexican president
Luis Echeverría Luis Echeverría Álvarez (; 17 January 1922 – 8 July 2022) was a Mexican lawyer, academic, and politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), who served as the 57th president of Mexico from 1970 to 1976. Previously ...
to
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 28 Oc ...
and is part of the Vatican's collection. Grandson Hans Matias Olay specializes in reproducing the birds and flowers that the
Nahuas The Nahuas () are a group of the indigenous people of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. They comprise the largest indigenous group in Mexico and second largest in El Salvador. The Mexica (Aztecs) were of Nahua ethnicity, a ...
in
Guerrero Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...
paint on amate paper. In 1990, the National Museum of Anthropology held an exhibit of works by Gabriel Olay Ramos and his sisters Gloria and Esperanza. Olay Ramos lives in Mexico City and mostly uses rooster and hen feathers dyed in different colors. The Olays try to maintain as much of the pre Hispanic technique as possible, avoiding peacock and pheasant feathers as they are not native to Mexico. They use Campeche wax to affix the feathers and amate paper as the backing.Castello Yturbide, pp. 222–223 Other workers with feathers include Juan Carlos Ortiz of Puebla who also creates feather mosaics, Jorge Castillo of
Taxco Taxco de Alarcón (; usually referred to as simply Taxco) is a small city and administrative center of Taxco de Alarcón Municipality located in the Mexican state of Guerrero. Taxco is located in the north-central part of the state, from the ci ...
who combines silver and feathers.Castello Yturbide, p. 226 The most common use of feathers in modern Mexico is in the creation of traditional dance costumes. These include the headdresses for dances such as the Quetzales in
Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
and the Concheros performed in various parts of central Mexico. In Oaxaca, there is the Dance of the Feather, which used dyed ostrich feathers and for the Dance of Calala, in
Suchiapa Suchiapa is a city and one of the 119 Municipalities of Chiapas, in southern Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by t ...
, Chiapas, the main dancer uses a fan of turkey and rooster feathers. Ostrich feathers are the most common in traditional dance costumes, followed by rooster, turkey and hen feathers. Despite their bright color, peacock feathers are rarely used. In most cases, the symbolic meaning of the feathers has been forgotten. One notable exception is the
Huichol The Huichol or Wixárika are an indigenous people of Mexico and the United States living in the Sierra Madre Occidental range in the states of Nayarit, Jalisco, Zacatecas, and Durango, as well as in the United States in the states of Californi ...
s, who have maintained much of their original cosmology.Castello Yturbide, p. 227


Notable featherwork pieces

Despite its popularity from in the late Mesoamerican period into the early colonial period, few vestiges with this technique survive into the 21st century.Meneses, p. 11 One reason for this is the care needed to maintain the pieces. It is important to know the characteristics of each type of feather to use and preserve them correctly. The best feathers to use are those that have been molted, as they have less organic materials and less likely to deteriorate. A feather object can last indefinitely if it is preserved in a hermetically sealed case of inert gas, with a fixed humidity, darkness and low temperature. However, this renders the piece unobservable. These objects can be exhibited in galleries, museums and private collections with minimal decay if temperature and humidity are controlled and light kept to a minimum. Perhaps the best known piece is the so-called Montezuma's headdress. Despite its name, research has proven that it was not worn by the Aztec emperor. It was most likely made for an image as it looks like the one for Quetzalcoatl depicted in the
Codex Magliabechiano The Codex Magliabechiano is a pictorial Aztec codex created during the mid-16th century, in the early Spanish colonial period. It is representative of a set of codices known collectively as the ''Magliabechiano Group (others in the group include ...
. The original is in the Museum of Ethnology in Vienna. A replica made with authentic techniques was made for the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. Because of the sending of many fine feather mosaics to Europe, a number of important pieces are located in museums and other collections on that continent. The oldest feather piece created by Christian indigenous workers is the Misa de San Gregorio at the Museum of the Jacobins in
Auch Auch (; oc, label= Gascon, Aush ) is a commune in southwestern France. Located in the region of Occitanie, it is the capital of the Gers department. Auch is the historical capital of Gascony. Geography Localization Hydrography The ...
, France. It was commissioned by Diego de Huanitzin, a converted member of Moctezuma's family and
Pedro de Gante Fray Pieter van der Moere, also known as Fray Pedro de Gante or Pedro de Mura (c. 1480 – 1572) was a Franciscan missionary in sixteenth century Mexico. Born in Geraardsbergen in present-day Belgium, he was of Flemish descent. Since Flanders, li ...
. It was probably made by artisans from San Jose de Belen de los Naturales. It is dated 1539 and given as a gift to
Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...
by
Antonio de Mendoza Antonio de Mendoza y Pacheco (, ; 1495 – 21 July 1552) was a Spanish colonial administrator who was the first Viceroy of New Spain, serving from 14 November 1535 to 25 November 1550, and the third Viceroy of Peru, from 23 September 1551 ...
, according to the inscription, following the papal bull that declared the indigenous to be endowed with reason and able to fully participate in Catholic rites. It is probably the piece never made it to the Pope and its interim fate is unknown. However, it was rediscovered in 1987, when a second-hand clothes dealer took it to auction in Paris.Russo, p. 17Castello Yturbide, pp. 118–119 Another notable work is from the 19th-century called San Lucas pintando a la Virgen, located in the
Musée de l'Homme The Musée de l'Homme (French, "Museum of Mankind" or "Museum of Humanity") is an anthropology museum in Paris, France. It was established in 1937 by Paul Rivet for the 1937 ''Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne ...
in Paris. It is attributed to painter
Juan Correa Juan Correa (1646–1716) was a Mexican distinguished painter of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. His years of greatest activity were from 1671 to 1716. He was an Afro-Mexican, the son of a Mulatto or dark-skinned physician fr ...
. The clothing is done in feathers but the face and hands were done in oil.Castello Yturbide, p. 138 However, a number of important feather mosaic pieces remain in Mexico. San Pedro is a work from the 16th-century, found at the archbishopric of Puebla and shows Roman influence in the style.Castello Yturbide, p. 120 Another piece in Puebla is a portrait of
Juan de Palafox y Mendoza Juan de Palafox y Mendoza (26 June 1600 – 1 October 1659) was a Spanish politician, administrator, and Catholic clergyman in 17th century Spain and a viceroy of Mexico. Palafox was the Bishop of Puebla (1640−1655), and the interim Archbis ...
, who protected the Indians in Puebla.Castello Yturbide, p. 126 La Piedad is from the 17th century at the
Franz Mayer Museum The Franz Mayer Museum ( es, Museo Franz Mayer), in Mexico City opened in 1986 to house, display and maintain Latin America’s largest collection of decorative arts. The collection was amassed by stockbroker and financial professional Franz May ...
. It depicts Mary with Jesus dead on her lap. Another piece in this museum is the Virgen del Rosario, from the 17th century, with the imagery of the Rosary important to counter Islam and Protestantism.Castello Yturbide, p. 135 One important 16th-century image is Salvator Mundi at the Museum of Tepotzotlan. It shows influence from Byzantine iconography including Asian features. In the four corners there are Cyrillic characters repeated that have not been deciphered. The inscription FILIUS appears on the right when it should be on the left. No examples of pre Conquest feather fabric survive, and only a few survive from the colonial period.Castello Yturbide, p. 85 Important cloths of this type include two mantles from San Miguel Zinacantepec, the Huipil of La Malinche at the Museum of Anthropology, the Tlamachayatl at the Ethnographic and Historical Museum in Rome and the Paño Novohispano at the Museo Textil de Oaxaca.Meneses, pp. 11–12Castello Yturbide, pp. 88–89Meneses, p. 24 All have feathers or feather pieces either embroidered onto or twisted into cotton. The Paño is a remnant of a huipil with feathers woven into the cloth, and is of a very similar design to the Malinche huipil.Meneses, p. 12-14 Church vestments, especially miters can be found in various collections in Europe including the Vatican. The church of Santa Maria in Vallicella, Rome preserves two 18th century sets of vestments which were gifts from Mexico. These include two miters with a base of flax paper and silk with white feathers glued onto it. Against this background are small pieces of paper sewn on, then with colored feathers glued to these to form floral wreath patterns.Castello Yturbide, p. 98


Notes


Bibliography

* * * {{Crafts of Mexico Arts in Mexico Featherwork Mesoamerican art