Shimmering Gold and Feathers: Strategies for Making Feathered Objects with Metal Applications

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Polychromy, Multimediality, and Visual Complexity in Mesoamerican Art" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Mexica employed feathers to make lightweight objects utilized by elites and gods in various secular, religious, political, and military contexts. The use of feathers is represented in murals, codices, ceramics, sculpture, metalwork, and even some of these objects that have managed to survive more than five centuries. Luxury and wealth were expressed through materials that exhibited brilliance and chromatic profusion. Multicolored feathers were combined with other materials that reflected light such as polished stone, pearl, shell, or metal to create objects infused with religious significance. These materials vibrate, shine, change color, and produce a dynamic and dazzling effect as the bearer moves or the object oscillates, in addition to being extremely pleasing to observe and touch. Specialized artisans turned woody grasses, agave, and cotton into thread, cord, paper, textile, netting, and matting to make a structural system for these objects that was hidden from view. For ornamentation, feathers were glued or tied, and metal plates were attached or sewn to allow a certain range of mobility. This presentation will examine various strategies used in the art of Mexica featherworking to bring out the splendor of various materials in complex objects.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• Polychromy, Multimediality, and Visual Complexity in Mesoamerican Art

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 32446