From Moctezuma to Charles the Fifth: A glimpse into the Cultural Biography of an Ocelot-Hide Shield

  • April 11, 2023
  • New York, NY

Lecture

In this hybrid lecture, Laura Filloy Nadal, associate curator of Ancient American Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, will discuss the Cuexio chimalli of Chapultepec.

Two magnificent Pre-Columbian feathered pieces from the Habsburg collection now at the Weltmuseum in Vienna have aroused the curiosity of several researchers and the general public.

“Motecuhzoma’s” Headdress and the Canine Shield have been examined from various perspectives and are considered exceptional sources for studying pre-Hispanic Mexican feather art. The uniqueness of their materials and meanings, as well as their aesthetic qualities and perceived value, led to their preservation and care by the Austrian imperial family.

Less known is a shield made of feathers, gold, and ocelot hide, which left Mexico before the early sixteenth-century conquest of Tenochtitlan and eventually arrived at the Habsburg court in Vienna. In the mid-nineteenth century, Maximilian of Habsburg (1832–67), as emperor of Mexico, requested its repatriation to install in a new public museum he conceived for the Mexican capital. After entering this museum in 1866, the shield immediately became an essential piece of the country’s patrimonial collection.

This presentation will survey the cultural biography of the Cuexio chimalli of Chapultepec —how it was made and used, what it means, how and why it was collected, and how it has been preserved and displayed during its recent history.

Registration required. Attend in person or online. All in-person attendees must be in compliance with NYU’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements.