Woman's Mantle (Lliclla), colonial period (late 16th–early 17th century)
Central Andean
Tapestry–woven (weft–patterned) camelid wool; L. 45 1/2 in. (115.6 cm), W. 50 1/2 in. (128.3 cm)
Ex coll.: Vitall Benguiat
Rogers Fund, 1908 (08.108.10)
Central Andean
Tapestry–woven (weft–patterned) camelid wool; L. 45 1/2 in. (115.6 cm), W. 50 1/2 in. (128.3 cm)
Ex coll.: Vitall Benguiat
Rogers Fund, 1908 (08.108.10)
Acquired in 1908 for the Museum's textile department, this tapestry mantle was long thought to be from nineteenth-century Mexico; in 1942, it was recognized as a remarkably early example of colonial-era weaving from Peru. Despite the European-style patterning, the presence of badgelike Precolumbian motifs called tocapu in the bands delineating the separate fields helps to date it to the sixteenth or seventeenth century.
