Chancay Textile Fragment Framed

Pre-Columbian era, Chancay culture, 1000-1470AD, Peru.

Outstanding and highly elegant framed textile fragment composed of tightly woven cotton or llama wool in hues of brownish red and cream, with delicate striped pattern with traditional stylized bird design. The major artistic achievement for which the Chancay are know is their mastery of textiles. Textiles were an essential form of symbolism to convey meaning, status, gender, wealth, and spirituality. Chancay weavers specialized particularly in delicate gauze work. They used an array of colours including yellows, browns, scarlet, white, blues and greens. In type of fabric used include llama wool, cotton, chiffon and feathers. The typically geometric designs also included drawings of plants, animals such as fish, cats, birds, monkey and dogs, as well as human figures. Canvases or gauzes were used primarily for religious and magical purposes. They were made for covering the head of the dead in the form of headdresses. In keeping with their burial customs, members of the Chancay society wrapped the corpses of their dead in many layers of cloth and buried them deep in the ground along with various goods. 

Very good condition. Age-related wear. Fragment of larger piece. Loose threads, holes, fraying and losses to fibers. Mounted in modern metal and glass frame. Size approx. 18,2cm x 17,6cm (excluding the frame).

Former collection of the archaeologist Ferdinand Anton, Germany, combined between 1950 and 1965. Ferdinand Anton was born in 1929 in Munich, Germany. He made a living by writing richly illustrated books about the art objects and religious rituals of Pre-Columbian cultures: the Aztecs, the Maya, and Andean peoples of South America. He was an explorer who flew to South America and Mexico, and hiked to remote shrines where few Westerners had set foot. He wrote more than forty books.