The oldest textiles in the Andean region included simple constructions such as plain weaves made with cotton threads, as well as more complex structures. Over time new techniques were developed, including tapestry, a weaving method where the warp threads (the vertical elements of a loom) are completely covered by the weft (horizontal) threads—usually dyed in bright colors. Weavers of ancient Peru’s Wari culture created some of the most elaborate tapestry-woven garments, masterful examples of innovation and imagination within the strict confines of a standardized tradition.

The colorful designs are grid-based, with vertical rows of squares frequently separated with monochrome bands. Compositions are highly geometric and often illegible at first glance. Figures are distorted, compressed, expanded, and rotated until they reach the limits of abstraction. The forms ultimately have a referent in the Wari iconographic corpus, such as staff-bearers, frontal and profile human heads, felines, and raptorial birds. This fragment shows four profile staff-bearing figures. Light brown figures with split eyes have a human aspect and the fangs of beings endowed with supernatural power. Green figures have the spots, muzzles, and claws of felines. All figures have wings, belts ending with stylized flowers, and appear as if they were running or kneeling. This fragment was likely once part of the same tunic as another fragment in the collection, MMA 1979.206.394.