Most of the 86 objects of stone, clay, metal, wood, mosaic, and feathers had been excavated recently at the site of the Templo Mayor of Tenochtitlan in Mexico City. The exhibition was a joint project of the National Gallery with the pre-Columbian department of Dumbarton Oaks. It was organized by Elizabeth Boone and H.B. Nicholson, University of California, Los Angeles. The installation was designed by Gaillard Ravenel and Mark Leithauser, who also coordinated the exhibition together with Dodge Thompson. Gordon Anson designed the lighting.