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Radiance from the Rain Forest: Featherwork in Ancient Peru
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Headdress
Late Moche/Wari(?); 8th–10th century
Cotton, reeds, feathers; H. 17 1/2 in. (44.5 cm)
Collection Michael and Judy Steinhardt, New York
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Headgear was the most variable component of dress in ancient Peru, conveying important messages about an individual’s ethnic affiliation, social status, and professional occupation. This elegant headdress combines north and south coast characteristics of form and design. The helmet shape is often seen in headdresses worn by individuals in multifigural scenes on eighth-century painted ceramics of the north coast. The scroll or wave motif is also common in the iconography of that region. The stepped triangles in the midsection of the crown, however, recall textile and ceramic designs of the south coast. Outlining color fields in a dark color is also a south coast convention.
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