Miniature Tunic
1 of 2
Object Label
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.
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Esta exquisita túnica miniatura ha sido tejida con sumo cuidado, con sobre doscientas hebras por pulgada. La menudez del tejido sugiere que fue hecho de fibras de vicuña, el pelo más delgado de todos los camélidos de América del Sur. Demasiado pequeña incluso para un bebé, esta túnica era probablemente un objeto de devoción, acaso ubicado en la sepultura de un personaje importante.
La figura repetida tiene cuerpo de humano con una cabeza felina y carga un báculo que termina en la cabeza de un águila o un cóndor, ambos símbolos de poder. Otros motivos Wari incluyen el ojo rasgado vertical, una línea de lágrima bajo el ojo que se dobla como un animal y los caninos en forma de N.
Caption
Wari. Miniature Tunic, 500–800. Cotton, camelid fiber, 8 11/16 x 12 1/2 in. (22.1 x 31.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alastair B. Martin, the Guennol Collection, 71.180. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 71.180_SL1.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Miniature Tunic
Date
500–800
Period
Middle Horizon Period
Geography
Place found: Peru
Medium
Cotton, camelid fiber
Classification
Dimensions
8 11/16 x 12 1/2 in. (22.1 x 31.8 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Alastair B. Martin, the Guennol Collection
Accession Number
71.180
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
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