Andean textiles
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The Andean textile tradition spanned from the Pre-Columbian to the Colonial era throughout the western coast of South America, but was mainly concentrated in what is now Peru. The arid desert conditio
Late Moche unku shirt fragment.
Wari wool-pile cap, 700-900 C.E., Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven.
Tupu (pin) before the 17th century
Nasca-Huari ceremonial unku of llama wool, 500 AD-700 AD.
Quipu
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Quipu, also spelled khipu, are record-keeping devices fashioned from knotted cords. They were historically used by various cultures in the central Andes of South America, most prominently by the Inca
Andean textiles
…encompassed a variety of functions. These functions included the use of woven textiles for ceremonial clothing or cloth armor as well as knotted fibers for record-keeping. The textile arts were instrumental in political negotiations, and were used as diplomatic tools that were exchanged between groups. Textiles were also…
An Inca quipu, from the Larco Museum in Lima, Peru.
Representation of a quipu (1890)
Quipu in the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio.