by Nina Hoechtl and Yosune Miquelajauregui
If you visit the web shop of the Weltmuseum Wien—the Viennese ethnographic museum that is part of the Kunsthistorisches Museum—you will currently find more than twenty souvenirs featuring or referencing one of the most controversial objects in the museum’s collection: an artifact commonly known as the Penacho de Moctezuma (Moctezuma’s headdress).1 Originally called quetzalapanecáyotl in Nahuatl, in the shop and on various souvenirs it is announced as “Quetzal feathered headdress.” These souvenirs are listed under categories such as “Weltmuseum,” “Aztec,” “Feather,” and “Quetzal,” in prices ranging from one to seventy euros. Some are accompanied by short descriptions.
For instance, the description of the enamel pin reads:
Size: 34 x 24 mm
enamel covered with epoxy resin
Decorate your jacket or bag with this colorful pin, which is inspired by a very special object from the collection of the Weltmuseum Wien. The magnificient [sic], Aztec Quetzal feathered headdress is the only existing one and consist [sic] of hundreds of long Quetzal-feathers and more than thousand golden ornaments. Quetzal feathered headdress, Mexico, Aztec, early 16th cent., inv. no. 10.402.2
Typically, a souvenir is produced in a certain location—although most of these items do not specify their place of production—and intended for widespread distribution elsewhere. In this case, while the souvenirs are meant for visitors from all around the world, they strongly evoke the region where the quetzalapanecáyotl disappeared under Spanish colonial rule in what is now Mexico. Today, these souvenirs can be purchased online or at the site where the object in question surfaced in 1596, when it was first mentioned in a European inventory, in a territory now known as Austria. In the shop, the quetzalapanecáyotl appears in various sizes as jewellery, a scarf, a bag, a fan, and a puzzle, among other objects. These items can be purchased and taken home, either for oneself or to be gifted to someone else, much like any other souvenir. Souvenirs serve as reminders of past events or distant experiences, carrying their significance into the future. However, the past events that these souvenirs evoke—dating back to Spanish colonization—are far from cheerful, and their significance for the future is ripe with contradictions.
Colonial imperial relations and operations led to the quetzalapanecáyotl ending up in the Weltmuseum’s collection at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Over the last forty years, it has faced conflicting desires, divergent interpretations, ongoing discussions, and intensifying demands for restitution. From 2010 to 2012, a joint research and restoration project involving Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and the Weltmuseum concluded that, for the time being, transporting the quetzalapanecáyotl—whether by air or by sea—would pose too great a risk to its fragile feathers. Thus, these twenty-three souvenirs unintentionally function as both memory aids and evidence—they continually recall the fact that the quetzalapanecáyotl has not been returned.
Our project strives to move “beyond” this impasse. It started with the following question: How can we think about restitution in relation to processes of repair and regeneration while considering other-than-human aspects of existence? In these times of deep uncertainty, the entire network of ecosystems, now spiraling out of control, is at stake; the interdependence between humans and their environment, in all its manifestations, must be acknowledged. Rather than debating the necessity or potential risks of physically returning the quetzalapanecáyotl, our collaboration began with the tangible aspects of the object—specifically, the more than twelve thousand now untouchable feathers used in its fabrication—to focus on the tangible impact of the production of souvenirs. For instance, although presumably produced in Europe, more than nine thousand kilometers away from Mexico across the Atlantic, this manufacturing impacts the habitats of the birds that provided the object’s feathers—the cotinga, quetzal, roseate spoonbill, and squirrel cuckoo. Hence we ask: How can these souvenirs serve as acts of gift-giving and self-gifting without causing further harm?
On the museum’s website, “Sustainable” is one of the “special topics” for browsing souvenirs. Selecting it reveals only one of the twenty-three souvenirs featuring the quetzalapanecáyotl: a cushion. The description highlights that the cushion is made of 100% recycled polyester microfiber. For the museum, the concept of “sustainable” appears to be defined solely by the use of recycled materials. We sought to challenge this narrow interpretation of sustainability by evaluating its associated footprints through a broader, more holistic lens—one that incorporates the social, economic, and political dimensions of production. This approach provides a more comprehensive understanding of the product’s true impacts throughout its entire life cycle—that is, by assessing each stage of its creation, use, and disposal.
We assessed the socio-environmental footprint of twenty-seven museum souvenirs by integrating five indicators—resources, emissions, energy, waste, and human well-being— into a footprint index ranging from 0 (no impact) to 1 (greatest impact). An exhaustive literature review produced a dataset containing average estimates for each indicator. Two multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) approaches were then applied to integrate the indicators into a footprint index for each souvenir. Both methods aim to identify an optimal solution based on multiple conflicting indicators. A programming interface was developed to enhance the visualization of model outcomes and clarify the decision-making process, facilitating more informed and effective decisions.3 This tool allows users to modify the weighting of indicators according to specific stakeholders’ interests and objectives. The process is designed to be fully transparent and interpretable, enabling a clear understanding of how input parameters are used and enhancing the overall explainability of the results, including the integrated assessment of each souvenir’s footprint.
Fig. 4 The Ecological Footprint app, 2025
Our analytical framework also allows for the exploration of plausible “scenarios” for museum souvenirs, which can be adapted to assess potential footprint impacts within a set of predefined conditions. These scenarios are constructed by adjusting the weights of different indicators and analyzing them using the multicriteria techniques explained above. Rather than providing definitive predictions of the future, these scenarios serve as tools for collectively exploring how the interests and priorities of various stakeholders may result in either sustainable or unsustainable outcomes. This approach fosters dialogue, encourages collaboration, and provides insights into how diverse perspectives can shape more responsible and informed decision-making.
For example, our analysis of the cushion’s impacts revealed that it is among the top ten souvenirs with the largest socio-environmental footprint out assessed.4 This ranking is based on a comprehensive evaluation that considers both environmental and social dimensions, including resource extraction, energy consumption, waste generation, emissions, and the well-being of communities involved in its production and supply chain. The findings highlight the significant impact this product has across its life cycle, emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and more responsible production methods to mitigate its footprint. If the best possible scenarios across all environmental and social conditions were realized, the three souvenirs with the lowest impact would be the coaster, the postcard puzzle, and the scarf.
Our framework explicitly considers the political, social, and institutional contexts, at both regional and local levels, that shape interactions within networks of actors. From this perspective, integrating multicriteria techniques with collaborative research offers a constructive approach for uncovering the systems that underpin sustainability-related decision-making. This holistic approach deepens the understanding of complex dynamics and supports the development of more informed, context-sensitive strategies to advance sustainability priorities. In short, decisions made today will influence the complex futures ahead on our damaged planet.
The quetzalapanecáyotl souvenirs have the potential to act as a bond, enabling different actors—such as souvenir manufacturers, museum shop managers, and purchasers— to recognize shared histories and other-than-human entanglements. The colonial formation of Europe was built on the exploitation of the bodies, ecosystems, cultures, and heritage of Mexico and other territories. The deforestation and extractivism that have afflicted Mexico from the sixteenth century to the present are merely the other side of this colonial process. As a result, the once-thriving habitats of the quetzal—the most emblematic bird whose feathers were used for the headdress—are now nearly destroyed, and the species itself is on the brink of extinction. We propose that a holistic approach to restitution could include efforts to restore these ecosystems, not least as part of a broader attempt to construct an imaginary and a politics that are no longer human-centered. Our project is a small gesture toward this endeavor, processing the past to envision future scenarios that aim to collectively “think about how much you can give up to promote more life.”5
This text presents the final edition of PENACHO VS PENACHO (2011–25), a long-term project by Nina Hoechtl exploring the Penacho de Moctezuma—quetzalapanecáyotl in Nahuatl—and the shifting power dynamics surrounding it. Four editions examine aspects of restitution, imagining the artifact alongside its beyond-human stakeholders.6
Launched in 2011, PENACHO VS PENACHO began with a wrestling match for the headdress in Mexico City between the well-known wrestler Crazy Boy and Superdevolución Copilli Quetzalli, a character I created, which was played by a professional wrestler. Crazy Boy won the headdress, and Superdevolución Copilli Quetzalli vowed revenge. The first edition of the project coincided with renewed debates on cultural restitution in the context of a restoration and research project from 2010 to 2012 involving the Weltmuseum Wien, Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), and the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).7
A decade later, in 2021, a large-format poster in Vienna depicted commemorations in the year 2078 to mark two centuries since the “discovery” of the quetzalapanecáyotl in Innsbruck. It celebrates an imagined future where a group of wrestlers swap the “original” with its replica while saving the birds that provided its feathers from extinction: the continga, quetzal, roseate spoonbill, and squirrel cuckoo.
This article is part of the book “Tide of Returns” by Repatriates Collective to be published in May 2026.
Nina Hoechtl is a visual artist, researcher, and teacher. Based at the Center of Gender Research and Studies (CIEG) at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico City, she conceives and practices research as a transdisciplinary endeavor that combines artistic, archival, and analytical practices with the study of visual arts—particularly visual culture—and queer, post- and de(s)colon/ial/izing feminist theories and practices. In 2013, Hoechtl received a PhD from Goldsmiths, University of London, after which she held a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Institute of Aesthetic Research (IIE) at UNAM. In 2018, her film ¡HAUNTINGS IN THE ARCHIVE! (2017) won the Women’s Voices Now Best Documentary Feature Award. Since September 2022, Hoechtl has been part of the international research project “Itacate: Sobras trasatlánticas,” the research group Figuras del Exceso y Políticas del Cuerpo (FIDEX), the Centro de Investigación en Artes (CIA) at the Universidad Miguel Hernández in Elche, Spain, and the IIE.
Yosune Miquelajauregui is head of the National Laboratory of Sustainability Sciences (LANCIS) in the Institute of Ecology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and leader of the Socio-ecological Systems Modeling Laboratory. Her research focuses on the design and implementation of participatory frameworks that model decision-making processes under conditions of deep uncertainty. She also studies coupled socioecological systems—thresholds, trajectories, patterns of vulnerability, and adaptation—along with the resilience of ecosystem services, the territorialization of sustainable development goals, and capacity building for sustainability. She holds a PhD in forest sciences from Laval University in Quebec City, Canada.
1 Kunsthistorisches Museum Shop, accessed December 29, 2024, https://shop.khm.at/en/.
2 Kunsthistorisches Museum Shop, “Enamel Pin: Quetzal Feathered Headdress,” accessed December 29, 2024, https://shop.khm.at/en.
3 The Ecological Footprint app was developed by Nina Hoechtl, Yosune Miquelajauregui, Raúl de la Rosa, and Camila Toledo Jaime at the National Laboratory of Sustainability Science of UNAM. See https://eco-footprint.vercel.app/.
4 Since material data and manufacturing locations were not provided, a composition analysis was conducted by Camila Toledo Jaime. Product labels were reviewed to identify the materials used, and additional research was carried out when label information was missing or incomplete. As of November 2025, not all of the souvenirs assessed in 2024 remain available, such as the coaster, while a new one, the Quetzal Feathered Headdress brooch, has appeared but hasn’t yet been included in the analysis. The material composition of all twenty-seven souvenirs is available in the app. See https://eco-footprint.vercel.app/Productos.
5 Naomi Klein, “Dancing the World into Being: A Conversation with Idle No More’s Leanne Simpson,” Yes!, March 6, 2013, https://www.yesmagazine.org/social-justice/2013/03/06/dancing-the-world-into-being-a-conversation-with-idle-no-more-leanne-simpson.
6 “PENACHO VS PENACHO I–IV,” Nina Hoechtl, accessed November 4, 2025, http://www.ninahoechtl.org/works/penacho-vs-penacho-2011-2025/.
7 Sabine Haag, Alfonso de María y Compos Castelló, Lilia Rivero Weber, and Christian Weber, eds., El Penacho del México Antiguo (Altenstadt: ZKF Publishers, 2012).