Lot n° 55
Estimation :
8000 - 10000
EUR
Result with fees
Result
: 180 320EUR
- Lot 55
Crowned double-headed eagle, America (New
Spain, late 16th-17th century Exceptional fan leaf executed entirely in marquetry or mosaic of exotic bird feathers, skin and paper.
On one side, in the center, a double-headed eagle under three crowns, recalling the Habsburg coat of arms, surrounded by two large flowers and two riders riding lions or bears. On the other side, among a rich network of flowers, a portrait of a woman in bust, playing the guitar. The cartel is flanked by two lions, and two standing figures, with costumes evoking the Spanish conquistadores.
H.f. 15 cm (wears, misses, restorations)
Presented under glass. 21 x 47,5 cm
History
The technique belongs to the pre-Hispanic art, known by the "Florentine Codex: General history of the things of New Spain", by Bernadino de Sahagùn. Of extreme rarity, these fan leaves are mentioned as coming from some Mexican Indians, the Amantecas, during the 16th century. They were intended for European sovereigns fascinated by this exceptional art playing on the luminosity, color and iridescence of feathers.
Given the rarity and iconography of our sheet we can legitimately assume an imperial provenance, or the female entourage of the Emperor of Austria, Rudolf II.
Nine paintings in marquetry of feathers from India were kept in his collections.
As early as 1519, Hernan Cortés sent feathered shields, head ornaments and fans to Spain. In 1524, Diego de Soto again brought feather gifts to King Charles V, including "feather accoutrements from the Indies, and feather fans mounted in gold." Quoted by Teresa
Castello Yturbide, "L'art de la plume au Mexique", 1993; and Charles de La Roncière, "Histoire de la marine", 1900.
Correspondence
Two fans composed with a similar leaf, by technique, are known. One is in Breamore Castle, Hampshire, Great Britain.
The fan would have been seized on a ship coming from Mexico and bound for Spain. The other is in the collections of the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts (inv. 127310).
Read Nancy Armstrong, "Fans in Spain," Philip Wilson publisher, 2004, p. 144. And "Images take flight: feather art in Mexico and
Europe, 1400-1700," Hirmer Verlag, University Chicago Press, 2015.
A re-export permit may be required to take this sheet out of the European Union, which is the responsibility of the buyer. A refusal to obtain it does not constitute a clause of resolution of the sale.
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue