Coastal Wari. <em>Wig Headdress</em>, 600–1000. Cotton, camelid fiber, human hair, bast fiber, 35 13/16 x 8 3/4 x 2 1/2 in. (91 x 22.2 x 6.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund, 41.427. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 41.427_PS6.jpg)

Wig Headdress

Artist:Wari

Medium: Cotton, camelid fiber, human hair, bast fiber

Geograhical Locations:

Dates:600–1000

Dimensions: 35 13/16 x 8 3/4 x 2 1/2 in. (91 x 22.2 x 6.4 cm)

Collections:

Accession Number: 41.427

Image: 41.427_PS6.jpg,

Catalogue Description:
Wig headdress consisting of a cap made by simple looping of cotton (white) and undyed camelid fibers (natural browns). Thin braids of human hair are attached to and hang from the cap, and are decorated at the lower ends with red, white, yellow/gold, and blue dyed camelid fibers that are wrapped aound each braid. Wig headdresses have been found in association with mummy bundles of elite Wari state representatives buried along the desert coast. They would have been placed on top of the false head of a mummy bundle (Rebecca Stone-Miller, To Weave for the Sun. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Thames and Hudson, 1992). Size: adult. Probable wearer: female or undetermined. Hat: camelid fiber, simple looping. Braiding: human hair. Camelid fiber wrapping.

Brooklyn Museum