Abstract

MUNOZ, Santiago. ‘Feather mosaic’ and its multiple dimensions of meaning. The Mass of Saint Gregory, Viceroyalty of New Spain, 1539. hist.crit. [online]. 2006, n.31, pp.121-149. ISSN 0121-1617.

‘Feather mosaic is a concept developed in order to analyze a series of artistic objects elaborated with feathers by the native population of America. This article begins with a proposal to shift the focus of the approach to the study of ‘feather mosaic’ by taking into account the multiple dimensions of meaning within this art form. It thus considers readings of ‘feather mosaic’ as only iconographic manifestations referring back to European traditions to be incomplete. A study of The Mass of Saint Gregory, Viceroyalty of New Spain draws our attention to the polysemy of these images. The article emphasizes the need to explore new ways of reading that enable us to get closer to indigenous meanings, which have often gone unnoticed. In this way, it proposes to take into account aspects such as the artistic techniques and the types of feathers used, as well as the colors, forms and ‘iconographic’ motifs of the images. By stressing that these images were created with feathers, whose meaning should not be avoided, this article questions the division between content and form.

Keywords : Feather mosaic; iconography; Mass of Saint Gregory; Viceroyalty of New Spain; conceptions of the colonial period.

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