Category: Sources

The Seven Remaining Aztec Feather-works

  1. Feather Headdress

Location: Weltmuseum Wien – Vienna, Austria

Probably the most iconic piece of Aztec history in existence, this incredible green quetzal-feather headdress is majestic, even 500 years after its manufacture. Made in 1515, and was made using materials from across the empire, including hundreds of green quetzal feathers and thousands of gold buttons. Cortes took possession of it in Mexico during the conquest and quickly sent this piece back to Europe, possibly in the first shipment to Spain in July 1519.  It’s next documented appearance is when it was catalogued in 1596 at the death of Ferdinand II, who had apparently received it from a relative, who had received it from Cortes. It remained in the Hapsburg family until it made it into academic hands in 1880. Mexico has made attempts to have the headdress returned but as of today it resides at the Weltsmuseum Wien in Vienna, Austria.

Quetzal-feather headdress housed in Vienna.
Quetzal-feather headdress housed in Vienna.

2. Ahuizotl Shield (Chimalli)

Location: Weltmuseum Wien – Vienna, Austria

One of four shields, or chimalli, to survive it is made of reed, rawhide, feathers, gold and plant-fiber yarn. It is called the Ahuizotl shield because of an association with the Aztec emperor of that name. This incredible artifact enters the historical record in 1522 as a gift from Cortes to the Bishop of Palencia, Pedro Ruiz de la Mota. A later bishop, Pedro de la Gasca, gifted it to Ferdinand I in the 1550s. From there it entered the Hapsburg Dynasty collection and became part of the legendary Ambras Collection cultivated by Ferdinand II at Ambras Castle in Innsbruck, Austria. In 1880 it was handed over to the Imperial Museum of Natural History. In 1928 it ended up in its current location at the Weltmuseum Wien in Vienna, Austria.

Front and back view of the Ahuizotl Shield, courtesy Walter Bumgarner.

3. Feather Fan

Location: Weltmuseum Wien – Vienna, Austria

The year and origin of the fan are unknown. Determined to be post-contact. Listed in 1596 as a “large windmaker” in Ferdinand II’s Ambras collection, which included the headdress and Auhuizotl chimalli. And that butterfly in the center…

An Aztec-style fan.

4. and 5.: The Stuttgart Shields

Location: Landesmuseum Wúrttemberg, Stuttgart

This pair of Aztec feathered shields, or chimalli, made their way to Europe in the 16th century landing in Stuttgart and the Wurtemburg Dynasty. Both chimallis were first recorded in a royal parade in 1599 in Stuttgart. Neither shield got far from there and both are now housed at the Landesmuseum Wurtemburg in Stuttgart, Germany. There are several documented shields taken by or gifted to Cortes during the conquest. Cortes, in a letter to Charles, writes he was given 24 golden shields with feathers. When the Spanish were housed in the Palace of Axayacatl in Tenochtitlan they stumbled upon the former king’s treasure stash, amongst which were more shields.

Two Aztec shields (chimalli) kept in Stuttgart, Germany.

6. Chapultepec Shield (Chimalli)

Location: Museo Nacional de Historia, Mexico City

The chimalli must have been on the first shipment from Cortes’s expedition because the museum claims it arrived in Brussels in 1519 and remained in the Palace of Arms. In 1796 the chimalli made it to a collection in Vienna. It returned to Mexico in 1866 with Maximilian I and his ill-fated bid to rule Mexico. This chimalli is in bad shape and not visible to the public. With much of the jaguar skin gone, missing gold, feathers decomposing and fibers disintegrating it is a challenge for conservationists.

The only Aztec chimalli in Mexico.

7. Feather-covered leather piece

Location: Museo Nacional de Historia, Mexico City

This piece is considered post-contact but done in the traditional style of the Aztec feather artisans called amantecas. Academics estimate it to have been made around 1540. At some point it made its way into the lining of a container for an old chalice used by the Franciscan friars, according to ethnohistorian Rafael Garcia Granados. The brightly colored blue and yellow feathered leather mat was acquired in the state of Hidalgo and officially published by Grandaos in 1939. The blue water design has been suggested to represent Tlaloc or some fusion of Christian and Aztec imagery.

Blue and yellow featherwork, image courtesy www.mexicolore.com

UPDATE: It was brought to my attention that the amenteca continued to work for many years on Christian-themed works of art. Check that out as well.

Lesser Known Sources for the Conquest

In addition to the main European and Indigenous sources, like Bernal Diaz and Cortes, there are other less-known sources. Here are a few of the most interesting, but lesser known, European sources for the Conquest of Mexico.

Relación de algunas cosas de la Nueva España, y de la gran ciudad de Temestitán México; escrita por un compañero de Hernán Cortés.

This anonymous telling of the exploration of Mexico by the Cortes expedition is short and written like a guide to the New World. The anonymous author writes on subject like “The Animals” and men’s clothing. This is presumably a first-hand account.

De rebus gestis Ferdinandi Cortesii, Vida de Hernan Cortes

This anonymous Latin telling captures the life of Hernan Cortes.

Relacion hecha por el Senor Andres de Tapia, sobre la conquista de Mexico.

Written by Andres de Tapia, a conquistador who was on the expedition with Cortes, it is a rough telling of the full expedition to New Spain and Tenochtitlan. It’s possible this version was the foundational document for Gomara and Bernal Diaz’s versions. This is a first-hand account of the conquest, one of five written by men who were on the expedition (Andres de Tapia, Cortes, Diaz, anonymous conquistador, Aguilar and Velazquez de Tapia).

Andres de Tapia depicted in the Manuscript of the Dogging.
Andres de Tapia depicted in the Manuscript of the Dogging.

Relación breve de la conquista de la Nueva España

This version was written late in life by the conquistador Francisco de Aguilar. By the time Aguilar had written this account he was an old priest. This version is short, and adds little to the known narrative. One interesting point is an expedition to Texcoco that Aguilar was sent on with Pedro de Alvarado.

Relación de méritos y servicios del conquistador Bernardino Vázquez de Tapia

Vazquez de Tapia wrote a version of the conquest, which is in the typical “Relacion” style which generally sought to tout the conquistador’s feats in the New World. Bernardino’s tells a familiar story, which varies in several ways, including how he stayed in Tenochtitlan and took part in the attack on the Mexica festival, while Cortes, Bernal Diaz and other prominent writers went to Cempoala to contend with Narvaez.

English Translation of Andres de Tapia’s Relacion

Andres de Tapia was a Spanish conquistador under the command of Hernan Cortes during the Conquest of Mexico. Like many of the Spanish conquistadors he was born in Estremadura, Spain. While at Cozumel, Tapia was the first man to spot the lost Spaniard who had lived among the Maya.

Image of Tapia from the Manuscript of the Dogging.

He wrote an account of the Conquest with the catchy title of RELACIÓN DE ALGUNAS COSAS DE LAS QUE ACAECIERON AL MUY ILUSTRE SEÑOR DON HERNANDO CORTÉS, MARQUÉS DEL VALLE, DESDE QUE SE DETERMINÓ A IR A DESCUBRIR TIERRA EN LA TIERRA FIRME DEL MAR OCÉANO, or in English, A RELATION OF CERTAIN THINGS OF WHICH THE ILLUSTRIOUS DON HERNAN CORTES, MARQUES OF THE VALLEY, SINCE HE DETERMINED TO DISCOVER LAND ON ‘TIERRA FIRME’ OF THE OCEAN SEA. It was simply called Relacion de Algunas Cosas by most people.

The only English translation I know of is The Conquistadors, First-person Accounts of the Conquest of Mexico, which includes a translation by Patricia de Fuentes. It can be found in libraries, maybe on big book or academic retailers.

The original text is comprised of massive run-on sentences, overly formal language that lands as uneducated, compared to the later accounts by Gomara and Bernal Diaz. While their accounts may be based on his, Tapia’s version was not published until 300 years after the events.

Having read Diaz and Gomara first, it seems plausible, from what I’ve read so far of Tapia. Others are sure of it, having identified copied text in Gomara’s effort. Since Diaz was, in part, rebutting Gomara’s account it would also have been shaped by Tapia’s.

Spanish Edition of Relacion de Algunas Cosas

English Sample of my translation.

“On this island it was understood by signs, or we understood as best we could, that on the mainland that stood off the island there were men with beards like us, up to three or four. The Marquis of the Valley gave certain jewels and things of [rescate] that he brought, to an Indian because he carried a letter to those Christians, and with this Indian he sent a brig and four boats and a captain; and because the Indian said they were near the coast of the sea he wrote to them in the letter that the boats would wait for them for five days, and no more; and with this they left the brigantine and boats, and they were eight days, and the Indian who brought the letter returned to our people, and made signs that they did not want to come, and so they all returned to that island. And then the Marquis had all his people boarded, and embarked and signaled that all made sail, and so they did, and suddenly the wind became so contrary, that it was necessary to take the port, without being able to do anything else, and returned to disembark.”

Translation of de Tapia’s description of the Battle of Cintla by Patricia de Fuentes:

“The marques and all his men heard mass and went out against them. Since the land is crossed with canals, and there are deep estuaries along the route we were to take, the marques, with ten of the thirteen horses he had, went along the left of the estuary to see where he could find cover of trees from which to attack the enemy from the rear or the flank. The foot soldiers headed straight forward over the canals, and as the Indians knew the terrain and are more nimble than the Spaniards, they crossed over quickly, and from the other side shot many arrows and spears at us, and stones from slings. Although we killed some of them with certain field pieces we had, and with the crossbows, they did us much damage because they were so numerous. We found ourselves in great danger and were out of touch with the marques, for with so many dangerous crossings he had not found the way to reach the enemy.

Just as the Indians had us foot soldiers surrounded on all sides, there appeared at their rear a man on a dapple-gray horse, and the Indians began to flee and leave us alone for a while, thanks to the damage the rider was doing them. We, thinking it was the marques, rallied ourselves and killed some of the enemy, but the horse did not appear again for the moment. Turning back on us again, the enemy began to abuse us as before, and again the horseman appeared and attacked them, closer to us this time so that we all saw him. Once more we charged and the horse disappeared as before. And still he came again, which made three times that he appeared and that we saw him, believing him to be one of the marques company.

The marques and his nine horsemen returned to our rear and told us how they had been able to cross over to us. We told him how we had seen one of the horsemen and he said: “Onward companions, for God is with us.” Once he was out of the canals he charged into the enemy, the foot soldiers behind him, and in this way we routed them. Many were killed and the rest fled to take refuge in the impassable parts of the canals.”