check throughout the whole of the process. Every kind of feather ornament was made by these artists, including the elaborate back-devices worn by different ranks of warriors. For many of the latter cane frames were constructed, to which the feathers, carefully marshalled, were attached by threads, layer upon layer being added, each covering the bare quills of the last, the final row consisting of down. In the earlier days obsidian knives were used to cut the feathers, and in reality the art only became of importance after the conquest of various coastal towns brought the plumes of the more gorgeous birds to
(British Museum)
Mexico in great quantities as tribute. Those workers engaged upon the feather ornaments and mantles used to deck the figure and representatives of the god Uitzilopochtli, lived in a special house, and many of the more important lords maintained artists who worked especially for them.
The textile arts flourished throughout Mexico, though owing to the unfavourable nature of the climate, specimens are practically non-existent. Thread was spun by the women from nequen, the fibre of the maguey or cotton, and the fur of rabbits was also utilized. Girls learnt the art at a tender age, and the ornamented spindle-whorls, usually of pottery, but sometimes of bone, are common in museums (Fig. 26). The spindle was
