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Skirt

Arts of the Americas

MEDIUM Camelid fiber
  • Place Found: South Coast, Peru
  • DATES 0-100 C.E.
    PERIOD Early Intermediate Period, Phase 1
    DIMENSIONS height (incomplete): 123 5/8 in. (314 cm); 16 1/8 in. (41 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Arts of the Americas
    ACCESSION NUMBER 34.1592
    CREDIT LINE Alfred W. Jenkins Fund
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION This skirt was made for an adult male. The plain weave, dark blue background is woven with horizontal camelid fiber warps and camelid fiber wefts. Yellow, olive, red and dark green camelid fiber embroidery is used for the alternating colors in the border and the paired bands. Two 'sprang' ties are at each end of the skirt and terminate in long, bulky fringes. Crossed looping is employed at the edges and as the tassel holder (at the base of the fringe). The skirt is incomplete; the left and right sides have been cut but the embroidery area is complete. From Mary Frame's notes: Seven different figures alternate irregularly on the borders and in the paired bands, and it is unusual to have that many different figures represented on the same textile. They are felines and mythical figures, usually shown with a streamer emanating from each side of their heads and often ending with a trophy head being represented. The background color squares alternate regularly, and continuous color lines run on the S and Z slant diagonals. The embroidery style differs from the 3 styles described by Dwyer and Paul (linear, block color and broad line). Here the figures are presented in "silhouette" with little interior detailing other than facial features and pelt markings. One of the figures, the cat standing on two legs (a human stance), also appears on a fragment in the Brooklyn Museum collection (64.114.20).
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Paracas. Skirt, 0-100 C.E. Camelid fiber, height (incomplete): 123 5/8 in. (314 cm); 16 1/8 in. (41 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Alfred W. Jenkins Fund, 34.1592. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 34.1592.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 34.1592.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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    Paracas. <em>Skirt</em>, 0-100 C.E. Camelid fiber, height (incomplete): 123 5/8 in. (314 cm); 16 1/8 in. (41 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Alfred W. Jenkins Fund, 34.1592. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 34.1592.jpg)