Description:

Pre-Columbian, South Coast Peru, Nazca to Chimu, ca. 500 to 1470 CE. A remarkable featherwork textile headdress, a panel of plain-woven cotton fibers covered with colorful green-blue parrot feathers, white, and iridescent green-brown plumes. This was probably worn with the broad area and white feathers placed on top of the head, the side cords tied under the chin or to another textile headband, and the tapered green feather panel would hang down their back. Reeds wrapped in cotton protrude from the feather-bare area on the top - feathers may have been attached to the reeds to add height and affix them in a vertical position like a crown. Specialized artisans attached the feathers onto cords which were sewn to the plain cotton backing. Feathered clothing such as this was worn by rulers and other elites, the iridescent colors were spectacular in the sunlight, making naturally dyed cloth pale in comparison! Size: 27" L x 13.5" W (68.6 cm x 34.3 cm)

Colorful feathers were prized materials in Andean cultures due to the sourcing and transportation, some feathers were worth nearly the same as precious metals (if not more). Some species used- such as macaws must have been imported from the rainforest through the mountains and to the coast, a journey of hundreds of miles. It is possible that live, caged birds as well as their plucked feathers were carried by traders to supply this demand! Avian motifs and the use of feathers were symbolic in Andean cultures, for birds were sacred animals that could fly between worlds and were messengers for the gods.

Provenance: private southern California, USA collection, acquired before 2000

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#186174

  • Condition: Fragile. Textile is actively flaking and disintegrating when handled, we recommend framing under glass to preserve the textile. Several feathers are loose and not attached. Tears and fraying to cotton textile.

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November 9, 2024 10:00 AM MST
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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