163 



COSTUMES 



OF THE 



INDIANS OF MECHOA CAN. 



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 



