163 



COSTUMES 



INDIANS OF MECHOACAN 



PLATES LII, & LIII. 



The Indians of the provice of Valladolid, the 

 ancient kingdom of Mechoacan, are the most 

 industrious of New Spain. They have a re- 

 markable talent of cutting out small figures in 

 wood, and dressing them in clothes made of 

 the pith of an aquatic plant. This pith, which 

 is very porous, imbibes the most vivid colours ; 

 and, if cut spirally, yields pieces of considerable 

 dimensions. I brought home for her majesty 

 the queen of Prussia, a collection of these In- 

 dian figures, arranged with much skill. This 

 princess, who united to a great elevation of cha- 

 racter an enlightened taste for the arts, ordered 

 such as had suffered the least from carriage to 

 be sketched. These drawings are exhibited in 



m 2 



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