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This boldly patterned tabard is one of several with identical designs and colors that are particularly impressive for their size. Measuring fifty-two inches across the shoulder, this example is the smallest in the group. It is not known if such large shirts were actually worn on ceremonial occasions; they could have been the outer covering of a mummy bundle of an important personage or a special offering. The angular hook motif along the border on the front and back of the tabard recalls woven designs on textiles from the south coast from an earlier period.
Headgear was the most variable component of dress in ancient Peru, conveying important messages about an individualís 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.
Some of the finest surviving featherwork from Peru was done by Chimú artisans. These perfectly preserved plumes or fans were reportedly found with seven other luxury items wrapped in a cloth at the site of Chan Chan, the renowned capital of the powerful Chimú kingdom on the outskirts of the modern town of Trujillo, on the north coast. Built entirely of sun-dried mud bricks, the sprawling city had several royal compounds where deceased kings were buried with lavish offerings, including fine textiles, beadwork, and grand ornaments in gold and silver. These fancy plumes could have been part of an elaborate headdress but more likely were held as staffs. The long tail feathers of parrots are neatly wrapped with red yarn and fastened to the flat wood handles. The green feathers are naturally colored, while the yellowish red color was obtained through a process known as tapirage.
To express their power and wealth, Chimú kings who ruled on Peru's north coast during the last few centuries before the Spanish conquest commissioned large, ostentatious personal accessories in luxury materials from highly skilled craft specialists. The concave frontals of these ornaments are covered with delicate, precisely cut feather mosaic. The design, arranged in registers around a circle, is rendered in five different colors of feathers. Seven human figures with light blue faces and feet wear dark blue garments; bending forward, they are joined at the bottom of their garments by a fine green line that continues into a series of scrolls or waves running the length of their strongly curved profile bodies. The bent figure in Chimú art is known as the anthropomorphized (humanized) wave; though a frequent motif, its meaning is not well understood. In between the figures are long-beaked sea birds.
This fine miniature tabard could have belonged to a noble child or been used on a small, important statue. The blue and yellow feathers are sewn onto natural brown plain-weave cotton. The garment is further embellished with a border at the bottom of spondylus-shell beads and silver chimes.
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 clippedóor only minimallyóto 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.
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 felineóboth local in the regionóthe 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.
This impressive headdress is arguably the best preserved and grandest of a number of known examples of similar style and construction; they are said to have been found on the north and central coast. The long trapezoidal panel hanging from the cap in back is decorated with two identical frontal figures wearing caps topped by a crescent ornament, a common motif in ChimŽ art. The flaps on either side are covered with feathers inside and out because both sides were seen when the wearer moved (unlike the backflap, which is undecorated on the inside because it rested on the wearerís back). Particularly impressive is the white feather ruff above the cap surmounted by a tall, flared crest with multicolored long and short feathers.
Featuring a bold turquoise U-shaped yoke on a solid yellow field, this spectacular tabard is among the grandest surviving examples from Precolumbian Peru. Its design and technique combine north and south coast characteristics. The striped foundation fabric, woven with finely spun cotton in shades of natural light tan and brown (visible along the unfeathered shoulder) is typical of southern weaving, while the use of double wefts is commonly found on textiles from the north central coast. The small playful profile birds with zigzag bodies and wings are a hallmark of Chimú art from the north coast, and the inverted stepped triangles along the bottom are seen in the textile arts of the south. The tabard was probably made by Chimú textile artists after the Inka had conquered their territory on the north coast and moved the most skilled Chimú artists to the south. The feathers are Blue-and-yellow Macaw. The back of the tabard is covered with alternating rows of long green and pink feathers, probably from the Red-and-green Macaw and the Chilean Flamingo, respectively.
The human faces of the creatures decorating the frontals of these ear ornaments are on carved relief, probably of lightweight balsa wood. The chin and nose project strongly from the surface. The profile bodies, facing in opposite directions, seem to be floating in space; they consist of torsos with a raised arm and tail-like extensions worked as stacked triangles. The feathers were trimmed to create the design; the yellow and red ones have been identified as macaw, the green ones as parrot, and the purple ones as tanager or honeycreeper.
Headgear was an essential part of elite costume in ancient Peru and was made in many shapes, sizes, and materials. Several types of headdress from the time the ChimŽ ruled over most of the north coast have survived. As in other cultures, certain headdresses probably were worn for specific occasions. Tall cylindrical crowns in gold and silver with cutout designs are known from the ChimŽ. This rare example features cutout seated anthropomorphic figures and heads in leather covered with tiny iridescent blue feathers. The figures and heads in profile wear headdresses and are arranged as repeats in registers. Noteworthy is the sculptural quality the artist achieved on the figures and heads by molding the leather while keeping the surrounding framework flat.
The traditional menís garment in ancient Peru was an untailored sleeveless shirt or tunic with vertical armholes at the shoulders and a neck opening in the center at the top. Ceremonial tunics densely covered with feathers on front and back are open along the sidesóprobably to protect the delicate feathers from breaking offóand were held in place with ties, many of which are now missing. Open-sided tunics are called tabards. Featuring five colors and a geometric pattern, this tabard is particularly colorful. The small red, yellow, blue, and green feathers probably come from macaws; the brown ones could be curassow or Muscovy Duck.
This miniature tunic is part of a group of more than one hundred similar small items of clothing reportedly found in a cache in the Ica Valley in southern Peru. Their dating and cultural attribution are problematic because the site yielded materials from different time periods; some are said to have been found with objects dating from the last few centuries before the conquest. Miniature tunics usually have a U-shaped yoke or half oval on the front in a small range of colors. A feather in a contrasting color often indicates the neck opening.
The miniature tunics and dresses are about one-fourth to one-third the size of full-size garments. They are not functional clothing that could have been put on effigies since the openings for heads and arms are sewn closed. Although the meaning of miniature garments in ancient Andean cultures is unclear, their use was widespread and ancient. They may have been symbolic substitutions for full-size garments in votive contexts.
The manufacture of the miniature garments follows conventions used for full-size male and female garments; therefore, technical, constructional, and design characteristics are the basis for distinguishing between womenís dresses and menís tunics. The womenís dresses frequently have checkerboard or grid designs on the front; the feather tips have often been clipped to create sharp outlines. The backs of the dresses are feathered in stripes or a single color.
This large feathered hanging is part of a group of ninety-six that was accidentally discovered in 1943 near the village of La Victoria, in the Churunga Valley, near the junction with the OcoÒa River on Peruís southern Pacific coast. The panels reportedly were found rolled up or foldedófold lines can still be seen on some of themóinside eight ceramic jars more than three feet tall with modeled faces on their necks; the jars had been placed in a cache, where they were well preserved. Through a scientific method known as radiocarbon dating, the hangings have been dated to about the turn of the eighth century. Their use in ancient times is unclear. They may have decorated the walls of important outdoor compounds, though their arrangement in such a display is not known. Another possibility is that they were buried as precious offerings to the gods and supernatural forces.
A hat with a square flat top was the most distinctive head cover for men of status during the period in which the Wari people controlled a large part of present-day Peru. The hats usually have upright peaks projecting from the corners; they are now missing on this example. Commonly made with brightly dyed yarns using a knotting technique, the hats have both geometric designs and designs derived from religious iconography. This hat is one of only a few known examples constructed of a cane framework covered with cotton cloth to which feather mosaic was applied. The colorful feathers, probably from coastal and rain-forest birds, were precut to form the design. The four sides of the hat are divided into quarters filled with diamonds and the fanged puma heads in profile repeated at the diagonal. The colors of the triangles in the grid on the top also repeat diagonally.
Accurate identification of bird feathers requires careful study of the shape, size, structure, color, and texture. Some feathersófor instance, the one-inch-long bright golden yellow body feathers of the Blue-and-yellow Macaw or the tiny chartreuse head feathers of the Paradise Tanageróare unique and, therefore, easily recognizable. Othersófor instance, red, blue, white, black, and green feathersócould have come from a number of different birds.
The row of longer wing or tail feathers along the bottom of this garment is thought to indicate its manufacture in the last fifty years before the Spanish conquest. Many of the feathers were cut to create the images. The unnatural color of the feathers at the bottomósulphur yellow with an area of red or pink on either side of the shaftówas obtained by a process known as tapirage.
Pompous headdresses were favored by ChimŽ kings who ruled over much of Peruís north coast from their impressive city of Chan Chan, outside present-day Trujillo, during the last few centuries before the Spanish conquest. A popular type at the time in featherwork featured a long trapezoidal backflap and two narrow bands that framed the wearerís face. The stylized frontal figures and heads wearing crescent headdresses as seen here are a ubiquitous motif in all the arts of this period on the north central coast. It is unclear who the figures represent, since they are always depicted without distinctive personal characteristics or attributes. At the top of the headdress is a tuft of brown feathers that moved with the wearer. Movement of the feathers on textiles and headgear brought out the sheen and iridescence.
From as early as the second half of the first millennium B.C., artists on Peruís north coast produced a range of spectacular chest ornaments for the elite in luxury materials such as gold, silver, semiprecious stones, and shell. During the last few centuries before the Spanish conquest, when the ChimŽ ruled over much of the area, biblike pectorals were fashionable. On this rare neckpiece two techniques were used to attach the feathers to the plain weave backing: the red feathers, tied in strings, are sewn onto the fabric; the dark blue and turquoise feathers are glued on. The design motifsófish, birds, a human figure, and faces wearing crescent headdressesóare symmetrical and consistent with north coast iconography of the period. The two birds and human heads at the top of the pectoral would have been seen the right way up when the pectoral was worn. Along the bottom is a short fringe with spondylus-shell beads.
This type of headdress seems to have been fashionable on Peruís north coast in the tenth and eleventh centuries. It is often seen in depictions of the principal Sic·n personageóperhaps a deity, ruler, or mythological ancestoróon ceramic vessels and in metalwork, where it is further enhanced by long plumes emerging from the top. A crown of similar construction depicting the Sic·n personage on the front and back panels was excavated in the late nineteenth century at Pachacamac by Max Uhle.
It is said that this cloth was found with the crown and a number of silver miniatures in a tomb in the Chancay Valley. Several similar ritual cloths exist; their use in ancient times is not known. It is possible that the cloth served as a mesa, or table, on which the precious silver offerings found with itóamong them, musical instruments, vessels, and implementsówere displayed before burial. The border surrounding the cloth is of Blue-and-yellow Macaw feathers. Particular care was taken in working the corner tassels, which consist of wooden cores covered with tiny purple, chartreuse, and red feathers probably of the Paradise Tanager.
The damage suffered by this spectacular crown during many centuries of burial permits insight into the complexity of its construction. The striking, well-preserved checkerboard design is made of chartreuse, red, purple, and turquoise feathersóall presumably from the Paradise Tanageróglued to a fiber covering. The Paradise Tanager, which has five different colors of feathers, is a common and widespread species east of the Andes. Its intensely colored, velvety feathers were particularly sought after to embellish small luxury objects such as intricately patterned ear ornaments. The tiny feathers needed only a minimal amount of trimming.
Chimú artists of Peru's north coast made some of the finest featherworks in existence. After the Inka conquest of the kingdom of Chimor in the late fifteenth century, some of the best Chimú artists and craftsmen were relocated to the imperial Inka capital, Cusco, to work for nobility there. Several decades later, featherworks from the Americas sent back to Europe inspired European craftsmen, who admired and copied them particularly for the production of Christian works of art. Based on technical features of the cloth support, this tabard was made by Chimú artists. Like most of the surviving feather pieces from ancient Peru, however, it probably was found on the south coast, where conditions for the preservation of organic materials are favorable.
The design on this tabard is unusual and is not known elsewhere. The four figures with spread wings and tails may represent frontal views of birds with crescent headdresses.
The brown and white feathers covering this garment probably come from coastal birds. It has been suggested that pieces made predominantly with coastal feathers date from a time when trade routes over the Andes had been disrupted by the Spanish conquest and brightly colored feathers were no longer available or available only in limited quantity. If this assumption is correct, this garment would date from the colonial period.
The Nasca people of the south coast were one of only a few groups in ancient Peru that made textile figurines. This family group is exceedingly rare; only three other groups are known. Displaying a number of different weaving techniques, these charming works testify to the extraordinary skill and ingenuity achieved by ancient textiles artists. The bodies of the figures are plain weave stuffed with raw cotton; toes and fingersówith red nailsóare worked in cross-knit loop embroidery; facial features are embroidered in stem stitch; and the garment worn by the tiniest figure is plain weave with discontinuous warps and wefts. The "parents" have clearly indicated genitalia worked in cross-knit looping and wear long vertically striped gowns. The male figureís shirt has an indigo yoke embellished with a multicolored necklace and an animal pendant. All three wear wigs of human hair with braids to which small green and yellow feathers, probably of parrots, are tied.
As this spectacular, brilliantly colored tunic illustrates, feathers continued to be used as a motif in Peruvian art even after the arrival of the Spanish and the introduction of European imagery and taste. The shirt was made of the finest tapestry-woven cloth, known as cumbi, in the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century, when indigenous traditions in Peru were still strong. The feather motif was used together with tocapu designsósmall geometric motifs found on Inka ceremonial textiles and ritual itemsóa combination not customary during Inka times. The color variation on the alternating green and yellow feathers with red and white ends may refer to the color gradation often seen on real feathers.