Cleveland Museum of Art

Tunic Fragments with Bird-Headed Creature

Date

600–1000

Medium

Camelid fiber, cotton; tapestry weave

Culture

Central Andes, Middle Horizon, Wari, 6th-11th century

Department

Textiles

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The bird-headed creature in profile that repeats in each of this tunic's design fields gazes upward, holds a staff of authority in front of its body, and wears an ornate headdress behind which a three-feathered wing can be seen. The extremely high technical quality of such tunics suggests that the Wari reserved bird imagery for their most exalted rulers. Here, the original incorporated more than twice as much yarn as the routine--some 19 miles, all handmade and much dyed an inky, dark blue, the most prestigious of Wari colors.

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