Pizarro Commemorative Plate

This commemorative plate of Peruvian manufacture attests to a lively nineteenth-century revival of interest in the culture's colonial history—a phenomenon that paralleled a growing North American fascination wIth the indigenous cultures of Central and South America. Set within the formal coat of arms are portraits of the last Inca emperor Atahuallpa (on the left) and the Spaniard Don Francisco Pizarro, who led the conquest of Atahuallpa's Peru from 1532 to 1541. The inscription pays homage only to the conqueror, however, suggesting the degree to which the Spanish Invasion was accepted as an illustrious period in history even in the nineteenth century era of Peruvian independence.