Miniature Tunic

This exquisite miniature tunic has been woven with the utmost care, with more than two hundred threads per inch. The minuteness of the weave suggests that it is made of vicuña fiber, the finest hair of all the South American camelids. Too small for even a baby, this tunic was likely a devotional object, perhaps placed in the burial of an important personage.

The repeating figure has a human body with a feline head and carries a staff terminating in an eagle or condor head, both symbols of power. Other Wari motifs include the vertical split eye, a teardrop line below the eye that doubles as an animal, and the N-shaped canines.