The only 4 surviving Aztec feather shields, dated to the 16th century CE. They are now housed at the Weltmuseum in Vienna (top left), at the National Museum of History in Mexico (top right), and the others at the Landesmuseum Württemberg in Stuttgart [7415×7785]
by Fuckoff555
3 Comments
> Chīmalli were constructed out of materials such as the skins of deer, ocelots, and rabbits, plants such as bamboo, agave, and cotton, precious metals such as gold, and feathers from local, remote, and migratory birds. A single shield could be covered with as many as 26,400 feathers.
> Feathers for chīmalli were collected by bird breeders called amantecas, who hunted and raised several species of birds for the purpose of using their feathers for art. Being an amanteca was a family tradition, and one would teach the art to their progeny. The creation of chīmalli was also a community tradition, an art that involved amantecas, as well as goldsmiths, carpenters, and painters.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C4%ABmalli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C4%ABmalli)
so interesting and beautiful, thank you. they should all be sent back to mexico.
Were these ceremonial or made to be used in battle?