Quipu
Arts of the Americas
This small yet complete quipu (notice the knots at each end of the primary cord) likely dates from the colonial period, judging by the very loosely spun and plied primary cord. According to quipu scholar Gary Urton, the scattered knots do not appear to record numeric values, and he suggests that this quipu may be a colonial-period reinvention of the traditional Inca form that has been transformed in the process. This seventeenth- or eighteenth-century example is a perfect segue to Cecilia Vicuña’s installation, in which she also transforms the quipu through an act of remembrance.
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Este pequeño, aunque completo, quipu (nótese los nudos en cada parte final de la cuerda primaria) data probablemente de la época colonial, a juzgar por el aspecto holgado del hilado y el trenzado de la cuerda primaria. Según el estudioso del quipu Gary Urton, los nudos dispersos no parecen registrar valores numéricos, y sugiere que este quipu puede ser una reinvención colonial del estilo tradicional inca, que ha sido transformado en el proceso. Este ejemplar del siglo diecisiete o dieciocho, es una transición perfecta hacia la instalación de Cecilia Vicuña, en la cual la artista transforma el quipu a través de un acto de recordación.
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Este pequeño, aunque completo, quipu (nótese los nudos en cada parte final de la cuerda primaria) data probablemente de la época colonial, a juzgar por el aspecto holgado del hilado y el trenzado de la cuerda primaria. Según el estudioso del quipu Gary Urton, los nudos dispersos no parecen registrar valores numéricos, y sugiere que este quipu puede ser una reinvención colonial del estilo tradicional inca, que ha sido transformado en el proceso. Este ejemplar del siglo diecisiete o dieciocho, es una transición perfecta hacia la instalación de Cecilia Vicuña, en la cual la artista transforma el quipu a través de un acto de recordación.
CULTURE
probably Colonial
MEDIUM
Cotton, camelid fiber
DATES
circa 17th –18th century
PERIOD
Probably Colonial Period
DIMENSIONS
3 1/4 × 18 3/4 in. (8.3 × 47.6 cm) (show scale)
COLLECTIONS
Arts of the Americas
ACCESSION NUMBER
36.412
CREDIT LINE
Gift of Mrs. Eugene Schaefer
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
probably Colonial. Quipu, circa 17th –18th century. Cotton, camelid fiber, 3 1/4 × 18 3/4 in. (8.3 × 47.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. Eugene Schaefer, 36.412. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.36.412.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, CUR.36.412.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2015
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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