A rare and fine Italian bird feather picture

A rare and fine Italian bird feather picture, depicting the resurrected Christ surrounded by the Doctors of the Church, St. Augustine and St. Jerome above St. Peter, with the emblem of the Papal Holy See of crossed keys with a tiara, above a figure grappling with a snake, possibly Arius beside books and scrolls, one inscribed 'ARIUS', worked with highly coloured exotic bird feathers, possibly Hummingbird and Parrot, with printed silkwork details, late 18th / early 19th century, possibly by a Mexican emigré working in Italy, 18.1 x 11cm, in a rosewood, parquetry and cypress glazed frame and cypress carrying box with sliding cover.

The art of creating pictures from bird feathers or 'plumeria' found its apogee in the pre-Hispanic and colonial periods in what is now called Mexico. During the 16th century when the Spanish arrived in Mexico they were amazed by the feather creations and a creative exchange began which lasted until the end of the 18th century. The above feather picture symbolizes the battle between heresy and orthodoxy and follows a long tradition of feather work pictures and objects which found their way into the collections of the Papacy, kings, emperors and clergy.