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Museum Collections - Ancient Peru - Lambayeque - Artifact #4
WHO: Lambayeque culture
WHERE: North coast, Peru
WHEN: Middle Horizon/Late Intermediate Period, A.D. 800-1300
WHAT: Three substantial and colourful fragments that were all once part of a man's tunic (image at left is one of two upper fragments from shoulder of garment). The complicated imagery on the tunic is a difficult puzzle to piece together, as it contains many schematic symbols and images whose meaning is known only to the people who created it. The overall design is a series of repeated seated figures, positioned on some kind of altar or platform. The face is stylized and shown in profile with prominent eyes and teeth. The figure is wearing a classic Lambayeque style feathered crescent headdress. Each figure is bounded by posts and a combed roof, which are meant to indicate an architectural setting for the scene.
Fragment Height: 39.5cm
HOW: Tapestry; cotton warp threads, paired camelid weft threads.
MUSEUM: Textile Museum of Canada. T97.0007a-c
Zoomify Interactive: To see an image of this artifact that you can zoom in on, click on this link: Front (Warning: This link will open in a new window)
