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Radiance from the Rain Forest: Featherwork in Ancient Peru
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Tabard
Wari; 7th–10th century
Cotton, feathers; 62 x 32 in. (157.5 x 81.3 cm)
Collection Michael and Judy Steinhardt, New York
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Present knowledge of featherworking in ancient Peru is limited due to the lack of scientifically excavated pieces. Based on published archaeological finds, it appears that tabards covered on the front and back with the small, brightly colored body feathers of birds in bold abstract patterns, like this example, date to the second half of the first millennium A.D. The feathers on these tabards usually are not clipped—or only minimally—to create the design. Tabards featuring figurative motifs seem to be of a later date, probably the last few centuries before the Spanish conquest in the early sixteenth century. The motifs on the later tabards are often created using larger feathers that were trimmed to sharpen the outlines of the images. The front and back of this tunic are shown; the horizontal undecorated strip is the shoulder line, which was always left plain.
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