Chloë Sayer is an independent scholar, author and curator, specialising in the art and culture of Latin America. A fluent Spanish-speaker, she has spent many years researching ancient traditions and contemporary craft skills. In 2016 the Mexican Government awarded her the prestigious Ohtli medal to thank her for her long-standing commitment to Mexican culture.
She has made collections and carried out fieldwork in Mexico and Belize for the British Museum. In 1991 she co-curated the exhibition The Skeleton at the Feast: The Mexican Day of the Dead at the Museum of Mankind in London (1991 – 1993). She has also worked extensively in Canada with Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), where she is a Research Associate in the Department of World Cultures. She recently co-curated an exhibition for the ROM: ¡Viva México! Clothing and Culture (2015 – 2016) and wrote the accompanying book.
Her other books include Mexican Textiles (British Museum Press, 1990), The Arts and Crafts of Mexico (Thames & Hudson, 1990), Focus on Aztecs and Incas (Watts Books, 1995), The Incas (Wayland, 1998), Fiesta: Days of the Dead and Other Mexican Festivals (British Museum Press, 2009) and The Day of the Dead: A Visual Compendium (Laurence King Publishing, 2021). She has worked on a number of television documentaries about Mexico and Peru for the BBC and Channel 4, and regularly leads cultural tours to Mexico.
The Aztec Legacy: Continuity and Change
The Aztecs of central Mexico have been described as warlike and bloodthirsty, yet their creative achievements were breathtaking. The Aztecs flourished between 1325 and 1521, when they surrendered to invading Spanish forces. As a late civilisation, the Aztecs were able to benefit from earlier advances made by the Olmecs and by the founders of Teotihuacan and Tula.
Tenochtitlan, the shimmering Aztec city, was built on a lake. This Venice of the New World, with a population of 250,000 inhabitants, lay at the heart of a vast empire. Religion dominated every aspect of Aztec life. Military might was accompanied by exceptional developments in art and architecture. Aztec creativity found expression in miniature gold objects, fine ceramics, monumental stone sculpture, exquisite turquoise mosaics, featherwork, and precious pictorial manuscripts.
In 2014, stunning artefacts from major Mexican museums toured Australia for the first time. More than 200 sacred objects offered an insight into the beliefs and way of life of the Aztec nation. This unforgettable exhibition, which started at Melbourne Museum (9 April to 10 August 2014) and continued to the Australian Museum in Sydney (13 September 2014 to 1 February 2015) charted the glorious, dramatic and ultimately tragic story of the rise and fall of the Aztec Empire.
Despite the devastation that marked the Spanish Conquest, many Native arts and beliefs have survived to the present day. Náhuatl, the official language of the Aztec empire, is spoken by approximately two million people. Textile and ceramic traditions, mask-carving, dances, festivals, and celebrations for the Days of the Dead have their roots in the past.
Tuesday 8 August 2023, 6.30pm
Scone Arts & Crafts Centre, Kingdom St, Scone Refreshments served after the lecture. All welcome, visitors $30. Note: cash, cheque or bank transfer prior to the lecture only (no credit card).
For more details visit website