Oil and feathers of quezal, hummingbird and other exotic birds on copper. Located (Mexican Republic, State of Michoacan) in the lower left corner.
The attached work is certified by AESSAC (Spanish Association of Art and Collectibles Auction Rooms).
In American pre-Columbian towns, art plumage played a notable role in society as a symbol of wealth and beauty. The master weavers of feathers, also known as amantecas, were in charge of making all those pieces with decoration based on feathers (plumes, shields, flags, etc.).
After the arrival of the Spanish conquerors, the feather tradition continued in force. In period writings it is narrated how Hernán Cortés on his way through Tlatelolco was amazed by the enormous and colorful range of birds for sale in his market. The pieces of feather art aroused so much admiration that they were sent to Spain and to the rest of the European royal houses as a symbol of prestige and distinction. With evangelization, the feather technique regained strength, incorporating Christian imagery into the traditional indigenous language. The Spanish missionaries incorporated Amanteca teachers into their convent schools where they learned to represent European compositions and enriched numerous liturgical objects. In addition, they began the production of small paintings like the one we offer at auction.
The original indigenous meaning of feathers was blurred, giving way to a phenomenon of transculturation in which feathers became a merely decorative vehicle for the transmission of Christian iconography. During the 16th, 17th and 17th centuries, the city of Michoacán was one of the most outstanding centers of feather production and many of those images were offered as gifts to the highest levels of European civil and ecclesiastical power.
Despite the fact that The 19th century was a period of decline in feather art due to social instability, the School of Michoacán did not become extinct.
The descriptive richness of this piece, together with its wide chromatic range, endow it with great ethnographic interest that is underlined by the virtuosity inherited from the first Amantecas. More than twenty types of feathers were used to make this composition. In the scene, two peasants are on a stage covered by exuberant foliage while they are collecting. 42x31cm
PAINTING
Starting price
110.000 €
HAMMER PRICE
110.000 €
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