Azteco-Mexican Catholic Feather Art

[Volnutt]

Few works of Aztec feather art survive, although Hernán Cortés sent some as war trophies back to Spain. Following their takeover, the Spanish encouraged amantecas, or feather artists, to continue their work in today’s Mexico City and make icons of Catholic saints. As the editors write, within “months after the arrival of the conquerors, the amantecas were creating feather objects destined for Europe as well as Asia … In their new settings, feather mosaics stimulated local artists to explore the medium.”

Examples of their feather art made it all the way to Japan by the late 16th or early 17th century, and the unique iridescence of the work, which changes color depending on the angle and light, influenced visual expression on a global scale. In the 17th century, the chief gardener in the State of Milan, Dionisio Minaggio, was inspired to create the Libro di piume (The Feather Book) (previously covered on Hyperallergic), a book about and made of feathers from birds in his region of Italy.

 

[reclusivus]

Looks cool but I don't understand quite what I'm looking at the second is embroidery made of feathers?

 

[Volnutt]

Looks cool but I don't understand quite what I'm looking at the second is embroidery made of feathers?

Yep, a continuation of the pre-Christian Aztec artform.

 

[reclusivus]

Looks cool but I don't understand quite what I'm looking at the second is embroidery made of feathers?

Yep, a continuation of the pre-Christian Aztec artform.

Mesoamerican Catholicism is very interesting! I have a slightly morbid fascination with syncretic faith although obviously I do not want to see people sink into idolatry. The cult of Santa Muerte is especially concerning for instance and a lot of people in the countryside turn to superstitious diviners and charlatans and strange rituals that really teeter on violating the first two Commandments.

I once saw a video of a certain "Christian" "doctor" (unlicensed of course) in Guatemala who tried to heal a woman with a large tumor by an hour of total nonsense of crazy practices like spitting some liquid in her face and waving a stick with feathers on it, with vague occasional references to Jesus in a tiny hot cramped room.

But I suppose that's another topic and of course I support cultural translation like this which is beautiful!

 

[Diego]

This is beautiful.