Magazines - Tribal Art Winter 2011

By Fatma Wille, a pre-Columbian art consultant.

Introduction
Fit for a King
Over the course of three years, Hernan Cortés, the restless soldier of fortune, would defeat the centuries-old empire of the Aztecs, bringing the beginning of European dominion over the Americas. In 1519, Cortés, demonstrating a combination of curiosity and cupidity, shipped the gifts that had been presented to him by the Aztec ruling family to Spain in a bid to gain favor with his sovereign, King Charles I (soon to become Emperor Charles V). Contemporary chroniclers such as Bernal Diaz del Castillo, Francisco de Aguilar, and other Spaniards who have since receded into the shadows of history compiled lengthy inventory lists of the shipments over the next several years before the goods left the shores of Mexico. The bulk of these riches were destined to decorate Spanish palaces, where most perished or were lost over time, but a smaller number entered princely Renaissance wunderkammern , or cabinets of curiosities.