Art Institute of Chicago

Panel

Chancay

Date

1000-1476

Medium

Cotton, plain weave; painted

Culture

Peru

Department

Textiles

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The Chancay culture thrived in several adjacent costal valleys in northern Peru from about 1000 to 1450. The painted textiles on view here demonstrate some of the diverse techniques Chancay artists employed. The works are woven from cotton cultivated on the Pacific coast and painted freehsnd. While the style of the painting varies, the motifs are consistent and include birds, felines, and a standing human-like figure wearing a crescent-shaped headdress, its arms raised. The significance of this individual is unknown—it may represent a supernatural being or human ruler—but the painted scenes often include depictions of waves, suggesting the landscape in which these textiles originated. (displayed with 2017.108)

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