Cleveland Museum of Art

Head Cloth

Date

1000–1460s

Medium

Cotton

Culture

Central Andes, central coast, Chancay people

Department

Textiles

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This tie-dyed panel was probably worn as a head cloth, a common article of women’s wear among the Chancay people of Peru’s central coast. Its colors are reminiscent of a deep twilight, when the sky turns a luminous, dark blue and a shimmer of orange light appears on the horizon. It is not known whether the repeated squares have symbolic significance. It is unknown whether Chancay head cloths were part of larger clothing ensembles.

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