A Mexican Feather Mosaic Picture, 16th century, worked in coloured, painted and gilt feathers with St Christopher carrying the Christ child and a palm frond in landscape within a scroll and geometric border29cm by 20cmHaving flourished as an Aztec art form in pre-Columbian Mexico, the Spanish colonists prevented the Amantecas, or feather artists, from continuing to produce their traditional indigenous subjects, however they did encourage them to produce Christian subjects.In the 16th century many such pieces were sent to Europe to show the quality of this exotic art and also to represent the progress made in the conversion of the New World to Christianity.For a discussion of this technique see Images Take Flight: Feather Art in Mexico and Europe 1400-1700