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Radiance from the Rain Forest: Featherwork in Ancient Peru
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Tabard Half
Chimú 13th–15th century
Cotton, feathers; 31 1/2 x 21 in. (80 x 53.5 cm)
Collection Michael and Judy Steinhardt, New York
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A seated mythical animal in profile is repeated in horizontal rows. The creature has a disproportionately large, pointed snout with many teeth, raised paws, and a head crest; it is a common motif in north coast art from the beginning of the first millennium A.D. Thought to derive from a fox or a feline—both local in the region—the subject endured for centuries and versions appear in several cultures, perhaps acquiring different meanings depending on the time and place. Around the time of the Spanish conquest, in the first half of the sixteenth century, foxes were associated with agriculture and vegetation.
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