Brooklyn Museum: Arts of the Americas: Tunic

Tunic

After the Spanish Conquest in 1532, the traditional Inca tunic for men took on new forms and meanings. Local lords, or curacas, adopted garment styles that had previously been reserved for the Inca nobility. These members of the new elite appropriated the high-status garment of the past in order to validate their authority. This tunic combines both Andean and European symbols in its embroidered designs, which were done over a period of time. For example, traditional Inca geometric designs known as tocapu are visible along the lower edges of both sides and around the neck, and appear to be original to the garment. The embroidered decorations on the borders of the tunic above the tocapu, however, were added later. On one side, there are three repeated scenes of an Inca receiving gifts from women flanked by musicians playing shell trumpets. The scenes follow the same format as painted kero cup imagery. On the other side of the tunic, the embroidery is more European in character and employs a different technique. Two Inca kings stand on platforms next to the central image of a heraldic shield flanked by lions. This embroidery is executed primarily with silver-wrapped linen threads and is remarkably different from the previous two types. Embroidered tunics from the colonial period are rare; this is one of four known examples.

Medium: Camelid fiber, silk, metallic thread
Place Found: South Highlands, Peru
Dates: 1532-1700
Period: Colonial
Dimensions: 26 3/4 (52 1/2) x 31 in. (67.9 x 78.7 cm)
Collections: Arts of the Americas
Museum Location: This item is not on view
Accession Number: 86.224.51
Credit Line: Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc.
Image: Overall, 86.224.51_view2_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

Catalogue Description: Size: adult; probable wearer: male. Wool (camelid), warp-faced plain weave; wool, silk, and metallic (on linen core) embroidery; wool plain-weave appliqué (European?). One of only a few known Spanish Colonial embroidered tunics composed of a single length of warp-faced plain weave camelid wool with a subtle herringbone pattern. It is dark brown in color with broad stripes of red at the sides and embroidered designs at the neck opening and the bottom. In several places the embroidery is covered by small appliqués of cloth. The warp threads alternate narrow stripes of yarns spun in the "S" direction with narrow stripes of yarns spun in the "Z" direction. The result is a subtle striping effect throughout the fabric called l'loque. Contemporary Andean weavers believe l'loque keeps the "spirit" of the cloth contained. On one side, the border design consists of two Inca warriors amid three pairs of heraldic animals; on the other side three Incas are portrayed attended by musicians and women offering flowers. Embroidered above the head of the central Inca is a rainbow. The heraldic animals and Inca warriors on the other side are sewn with silver threads in a dense composition that resembles European textile designs, while the Incas and their attendants are sewn in bright colors with each figure standing out clearly against the background in an arrangement similar to the painted designs on native drinking cups (keros). The bottom edges of both sides are the same. They are embroidered with a row of small rectangular patterns that recall the tocapu designs woven on pre-Conquest Inca tapestry tunics. The neck of the tunic is also decorated with tocapu-like designs and floral motifs; on one side below the neck opening is an appliqué of a double-headed eagle of European derivation. It is possible that some of the embroidery is a recent addition; however, the appearance of the garment convincingly indicates prolonged use.

Collections: Arts of the Americas: Tunic