Moctezuma’s headdress, or Kopilli Ketzalli (sacred crown), as displayed in the Vienna Museum of Ethnology.
The feathered headdress of Aztec ruler Moctezuma II has been in Europe since it was sent there by Hernán Cortés in the mid 16th century. It was then given as a gift to Charles V, who at the time was King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, among other things. The headdress, which features 400 Quetzal feathers, is currently displayed in Vienna’s Museum of Ethnography. It was originally attached to a gold helmet that was eventually melted down by the Spanish. Austria has refused repeated calls to return the headdress to Mexico. A replica is currently on display inside Mexico’s National Museum of Anthropology.
(via welivethroughecstasy)