Browse Items (254 total)

The two fragments of this tunic from the far north coast of Perú are shown with the larger remaining portion facing out and the smaller one showing the side worn toward the wearer’s body. In other words, the whole tunic was covered with red…

It may seem odd that a textile exhibition should include several metal objects. However, this ceremonial knife with a crescent-shaped blade (known as a tumi) shows clear evidence of having been wrapped in textiles in antiquity. This…

It may seem odd that a textile exhibition should include several metal objects. However, this ceremonial knife with a crescent-shaped blade (known as a tumi) shows clear evidence of having been wrapped in textiles in antiquity. A later Inka…

It may seem odd that a textile exhibition should include several metal objects. However, these earspools with wide posts show clear evidence of having been wrapped in textiles in antiquity. An Inka tumi and Sicán tumi (ceremonial knives with…

For millennia, Andean peoples have wrapped their precious objects in cloth, from mummies (the first ones in world history), to metalwork, to other cloths. Wrapping expresses the concept of ukhu, the importance of that which is hidden. Here nineteen…

The textile artists of the ancient Andes, such as the Chancay of the central coast, invented nearly every known fiber-working technique, including the unique embroidered openwork seen at left and right. While it may resemble lace, it is first loosely…

Unlike today’s synthetic dyes that can produce any color— whether dark, light, or even florescent—in pre-Industrial times certain hues and values (colors and their relative darkness) were more difficult to attain than others. Using natural…

Every motif in this border fragment is either interlocked with another version of itself or is shaped so that it could be, which epitomizes the concept of interlockedness or reciprocity, ayni. Starting from the top are a band of curling snakes,…

Though this is only a small portion of the original composition, even in this fragmentary state the amount of thread that floats over the surface of the ground cloth is amazing. The cloth is the greenish brown that is now functioning only as the…

High-status headwear was always the prerogative of the elites in ancient Andean societies. In the Wari Empire, the pre-Inka state that dominated much of the Central Andes ca. 600–1000 AD, officials wore small, four-sided hats that sat high on their…