Nazca/Huari Culture
Representation of Butterflies and Shamanic Heads, circa 300–800 AD
Camelid fibres and cotton.
101.6 × 106.7 cm
40 × 42 in
40 × 42 in
HUA0082
Copyright The Artist
This outstanding Wari tunic frontal with stylised Butterflies and Human heads consists of two impeccably woven panels stitched together—except at the center, to leave an opening for the head—to form...
This outstanding Wari tunic frontal with stylised Butterflies and Human heads consists of two impeccably woven panels stitched together—except at the center, to leave an opening for the head—to form a sleeveless, knee-length garment with a V-shaped neck opening. Both its front and back are decorated with columns of imbricated motifs that alternate with bands of plain, gold-like color. The design elements on this textile are so stylised that they are almost illegible to most present-day viewers, making it a work that is visually reminiscent of Paul Klee and German Expressionism while remaining deeply Andean it its form the and structure.
Publications
José Antonio de Lavalle and José Alejandro González García, Arte Textil del Peru, Industria Textil Piura, Lima, 1988, dust jacket and p. 195.
James Reid, Textile Masterpieces of Ancient Peru, Dover Publications, New York, 1986, pl. 33, ill. 50.
José Antonio de Lavalle and Rosario de Lavalle de Cárdenas, Tejidos Milenarios del Peru, 1999, p. 315.
James Reid, "Marvelous Reality", Hali, September/October 2003.
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