Rug
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
This carpet is most likely a prayer rug used in church that belonged to an elite woman in Spanish colonial Peru. Its design features a man and woman attended by an enslaved black figure. The woman dons upper-class European attire, a social signifier embraced by wealthy Creoles (American-born Spaniards) to underscore their socio-racial and cultural ties to the Old World. Despite their unprecedented purchasing power, Creoles lacked political equity. The resulting tension paved the way for the many wars of independence from Spain in the nineteenth century.
Caption
Rug, 18th century. Wool and cotton, 53 x 39 3/4 x 1/4 in. (134.6 x 101 x 0.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. George E. Vincent, 50.155. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 50.155_SL3.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Title
Rug
Date
18th century
Period
Colonial Period
Medium
Wool and cotton
Classification
Dimensions
53 x 39 3/4 x 1/4 in. (134.6 x 101 x 0.6 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. George E. Vincent
Accession Number
50.155
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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