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Headdress of Motecuhzoma II
The headdress of Motecuhzoma II, Aztec ruler 1502-1520 CE. Although there is no evidence that it was ever worn by Motecuhzoma the headdress may have been amongst the gifts he gave to Cortés, who in turn passed them on to Charles V. This is an exact replica of the original now in the Museum für Völkerkunde of Vienna. It is made with 450 green quetzal, blue cotinga and pink flamingo feathers and is further embellished with gold beads and jade disks. (National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City)
Used with the author's permission.