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Tunic with Profile Animals and Checkerboards
✓ Authenticity guarantee · ✓ Specialist condition report · ✓ Insured worldwide shipping · ✓ Private-room viewing
The imagery in the central field of this unique tunic—animals with long tails and three-toed feet—seems to have been created by painting a slurry-like material on the pale areas to protect them when the fabric was immersed in a bath that turned other areas light brown. Then the slurry was removed, revealing the pattern. The checkerboard areas at the sides, on the other hand, are woven with brown and cream-colored yarns. Specialists puzzle over the origins of the tunic, some attributing it to the Paracas (700 BCE–1 CE) and others to the Nasca (100 BCE–650 CE), who sprang from Paracas roots.
| Artist / Maker | Peru, South Coast, Paracas or Nasca? |
|---|---|
| Date | 410–540 CE (radiocarbon date, 93% probability) |
| Culture / Origin | Peru, South Coast, Paracas or Nasca? |
| Medium | cotton; dye-patterned plain weave |
| Dimensions | Overall: 72.4 x 104.1 cm (28 1/2 x 41 in.) |
| Department | Textiles |
| Type | Textile |
About the Artist
Provenance & Source
Image & data: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 / Public Domain.
Condition
A detailed condition report and high-resolution photography are available from our specialists in advance of the sale.
Shipping & Collection
Fine-art shipping with climate control and full insurance to over 120 countries; collection by appointment.
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