Chimalli: the treasure of Moctezuma returned to Mexico thanks to Emperor Maximiliano

Hernán Cortés Marveled by this piece, he decides to send it to Spain in the sixteenth century. Hundreds of years later, the Emperor Maximilian got the object back in Mexico and now this treasure of the time of Moctezuma can be seen in the capital: the chimalli, (Nahuatl word to say "shield"

The elders Mesoamerican warriors they used the chimalli defend themselves on the battlefield, but from these pieces – until now – no remnant has been found.

There was another type of chimalli, a kind of insignia used by priests and rulers and only four are kept worldwide (2 in a museum in Stuttgart and one in Vienna). The National History Museum has another and from tomorrow it will be the centerpiece of the exhibition. Chimalli, Treasure of Montezuma at Chapultepec.

Around this room, the Commissioners María Olvido Moreno and Laura Filloy They planned to show the exceptional technique of Mexican craftsmen (lover they were called to those who worked with feathers) and on the battlefield, there was a syncretism after the conquest of Mexico and part of the world of Emperor Moctezuma.

Some Spanish conquerors began using the lighter clothes of the Aztec warriors and adopted some of the Europeans' weapons.

Only 500 years ago, between the 11th and the 18th of February, 1519Hernán Cortés left Cuba for Mexico. Upon his arrival, he realized how well the Mexica empire was well established and, like all conquistadors, he was amazed by the birds and animals of these lands.

The chimalli, the conservatives explained in a trip to the media, It weighs less than 1 kilogram and measures 67 centimeters in diameter. For its preparation 26,400 pens were usedonly 17,000 were used for the edge of the room.

To make the structure were cut 700 Mexican bamboo sticks of 3 mm. They were stuck in two layers of 350 and 350 stems. Agave, cotton, rabbit hair, grana cochineal, paper and gold leaf were other materials that were used in the making of this historic piece.

In the 19th century, the emperor Maximiliano made arrangements with his family to make three treasures in Mexico They left the country at the time of the Conquest and found themselves in the hands of the Austrian crown.

The emperor wanted a letter of relationship from Hernán Cortés to King Carlos V, a pharmacopoeia and the chimalli, only the latter returned to Mexico in 1866.

It is precisely in the main room that we expose the historical piece, visible from the front and the back, flanked by portraits of Moctezuma and Maximilian.

Chimalli, Treasure of Moctezuma at Chapultepec will be presented at the National Museum of History of February 14 to May 31