Feathers were a rare and valued commodity, imported from the Amazon basin. In those times, the journey to collect the bundles from the forest tribes was not only arduous but perilous, and such luxury was worn only by dignitaries, priests, and warlords, as symbols of status and power.

From an aesthetic point of view, Andean feather works speak for themselves more eloquently than words could. It should, however, be noted that their sacredness lay not in their rarity, but in their association with the celestial messenger, the Condor-Eagle: by wearing them, the wearer shared in the supernatural powers of this divine intercessor, guide of souls to the mystical realm of light.