Shamans, Supernaturals & Animal Spirits: Mythic Figures From the Ancient Andes

SHAMANS, SUPERNATURALS & ANIMAL SPIRITS 

MYTHIC FIGURES FROM THE ANCIENT ANDES 

A VISUAL ENCYCLOPEDIA 

VOLUME TWO 

VANESSA DRAKE MORAGA

Published by OLOLO Press 

P.O. Box 547 

Larkspur, California, 94977 

Copyright © 2016 by Ololo Press and Vanessa Drake Moraga 

All rights reserved under international copyright conventions. The author 

and publisher retain sole copyright to this book. No part of the contents 

of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, 

digital, electronic or mechanical, including by any informational storage and 

retrieval system, without the written permission of OLOLO Press. 

All images: Private Collection 

Design: Vanessa Drake Moraga and Lindsey Brady 

Project Coordinators: Erik Jacobsen, Vanessa Drake Moraga 

Text Editor: Lucy Medrich 

Photography: Don Tuttle, Ralph Koch 

Bound in Berkeley California 

Published in two volumes.

SHAMANS, SUPERNATURALS & ANIMAL SPIRITS 

MYTHIC FIGURES FROM THE ANCIENT ANDES 

A VISUAL ENCYCLOPEDIA 

VOLUME TWO 

VANESSA DRAKE MORAGA

COLUMBIA 

ECUADOR 

PERU 

Amazon 

Lambayeque 

Moche 

Chimú 

BRAZIL 

ANDES 

Huarmey 

Chavín 

Recuay 

MAP OF ANDEAN CULTURES 

Chancay 

Pachacamac 

Paracas 

ANDES 

Wari 

Inka 

Ica 

Nasca 

Pukara 

Sihuas 

Lake 

Titicaca 

Tiwanaku 

BOLIVIA 

Pacific Ocean 

CHILE 

ARGENTINA

VOLUME ONE 

Map of Pre-Columbian Andean Cultures 

Timeline of Pre-Columbian Cultures 

CHAVÍN KARWA 

PARACAS • SIHUAS • NASCA 

Chavínoid Paracas 

Paracas Ocucaje 

Early Sihuas 

Paracas Necropolis 

Early Nasca 

Early Nasca 

Nasca, Nazca Valley 

Sihuas 

Sihuas-Nasca 

Nasca 

Nasca 

Nasca-Wari 

4 

6 

9 

29 

33 

59 

127 

183 

207 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

VOLUME TWO 

TIWANAKU • PUKARA 

WARI 

Provincial Wari 

Wari-Related Styles 

MOCHE WARI • HUARMEY 

CHIMÚ • LAMBAYEQUE 

CHANCAY 

PACHACAMAC 

ICA • SOUTH COAST CULTURES 

INKA 

Selected Bibliography and Sources 

10 

34 

97 

137 

165 

291 

306

ANCIENT ANDEAN CULTURES 

2500 BC 2000 BC 1500 BC 1000 BC 

HUACA PRIETA 

2400 BC, North Coast 

(Chicama Valley) 

CHAVÍN 

1200–300 BC, Northern Highlands 

North, Central and South Coast 

Chavín de Huántar 

700-500 BC, South Coast 

(Bahía de Independencia) 

Karwa (Carhuas) 

KARWA 

8

500 BC 0 AD 500 AD 1000 AD 1500 

PARACAS 

AD 600–100, South Coast 

(Paracas Peninsula, Pisco and Ica 

Valleys) 

SIHUAS 

300 BC–AD 700, Far South Coast 

(Majes Valley) 

200 BC–AD 200 

PUKARA Southern Highlands 

(Lake Titicaca) 

100 BC–AD 800 

RECUAY North Highlands 

EARLY NASCA 

100 BC–AD 300, South Coast 

(Paracas Peninsula, Rio Grande Nazca Drainage) 

MOCHE 

100 BC – AD 700 

North Coast 

NASCA 

AD 200–600, South Coast 

(Paracas Peninsula, Rio Grande Nazca Drainage), Kawachi 

TIWANAKU 

AD 200–1000, Southern Highlands 

Tiwanaku 

WARI 

AD 600–1000 

Highlands and Coast 

LAMBAYEQUE 

AD 1000–1476, Central Coast 

(Rimac and Lurin Valleys) 

AD 900–1470 

ICA South Coast 

AD 750–1350 

North Coast 

AD 950–1450 

CHIMÚ North Coast, Chan Chan 

PACHACAMAC 

AD 1150–1450 

Central Coast 

CHANCAY 

AD 1400–1532 

Southern Highlands, entire Coast 

Cuzco, Machu Picchu 

INKA 

9

TIWANAKU 

PUKARA

Tiwanaku and Pukara Cultures 

Tiwanaku, Pukara, Wari: three ceremonial sites located in 

the central and southern highlands were fundamental 

to the artistic florescence that occurred in the ancient 

Andes during the first millennium BC. Each is identified with 

the development of a textile aesthetic that served as a spectacular 

medium for religious iconography and the cultivation of 

cultural influence, as well as political or military force, across an 

enormous region. 

Situated at opposite ends of the Lake Titicaca Basin, Tiwanaku 

and Pukara seemingly represent southern and northern 

branches of a very early regional tradition that emerged around 

this massive high-altitude sea, and which gave rise to an archaic 

art style named Yaya-Mama. 

The Pukara culture (circa 200 BC-AD 200) is both slightly 

earlier and more enigmatic than that of Tiwanaku (circa AD 

200-1100). While the two cultures overlap in time as well as 

geographically, it appears that Pukara’s luster began waning just as 

Tiwanaku’s preeminence and ritual prestige were consolidating, 

a process that culminated around AD 400-500. 

Only vestiges of Pukara's monumental architecture survive 

today. But scatterings of figured carvings, metalwork and stone 

or pottery vessels found in the vicinity of Lake Titicaca indicate 

that Pukara was the genesis of core visual and cosmological 

themes reworked by Tiwanaku and Wari artists. Indeed, if not 

the matrix culture, Pukara may represent the link between 

those two divergent highland traditions. 

In contrast, the urban grandeur and scope of Tiwanaku excited 

the admiration of the Inkas, Spanish conquistadors and 19thcentury 

European explorers alike for many centuries after its 

abandonment. Dominated by giant ritual pyramids known as 

the Akapana and Puma Punku, and a series of sunken courts, 

plazas, and palace compounds framed with impressive portals 

and fine stone facades, this magnificent complex was designed 

for large public ceremonies. 

Cult rites and communal feasts were most likely focused upon 

celestial and calendrical events or ancestral and mountain 

worship. The consumption of sacred botanicals (by dignitaries 

and shamans, at least) during these ceremonies is now accepted 

fact. 

The wealth and power of Tiwanaku’s ruling elite (dynastic 

lords, royal families, a priestly caste?) were mirrored by the rich 

complexity of the architecture. A pantheon of mythological icons 

embellished the surfaces of temples and palaces. Supernatural 

personages and ancestral effigies portrayed on stone studded the 

vast precincts. This mythical population is key to envisioning 

the Tiwanaku cosmos and interpreting Tiwanaku's artistic and 

symbolic legacy. 

Several works of sculpture are especially significant to the 

consideration of textile imagery during this epoch. Among 

the most celebrated and revelatory of these monuments, the 

Sun Gateway or Portal presents a radiant deity posed on a 

stepped dais. Flanked by a retinue of winged attendants with 

bird and human heads, this cosmic being adopts a posture and 

insignia strongly reminiscent of the staff-bearing divinity of the 

antecedent Chavín culture. 

While the staff is undeniably one the most important symbols 

in the Andean repertoire, its myriad connotations have yet to 

be fully catalogued—but they far surpass the usual predictable 

12

association with spiritual or social supremacy. As in Chavín 

art, Tiwanaku, Pukara and Wari iconography suggest that this 

emblem may have shamanic significance. It appears to denote 

the transformative state of consciousness that was intrinsic to 

Andean ritual and thought. In certain contexts or imagery, it 

may even represent the catalyst—the San Pedro cactus—itself. 

this archaeologically unknown tradition prominently feature 

the face or form of the radiant Cosmic Deity. This imagery 

is exquisitely rendered in a naturalistic or pictorial style that 

does not generally engage the pronounced geometricization 

and distortion innate to Wari design, although it both preserves 

and amplifies essential Tiwanaku and Pukara archetypes. 

The Staff Deity surely gives form and persona to a deeply 

embedded, long-enduring, pan-Andean concept of what 

constitutes cosmic or creator power. It is also tenable that the 

icon’s status in Tiwanaku, Pukara and Wari cultures reflects 

the lingering shadow and broad impact of Chavín shamanistic 

art and ritualism. Although this connection was posited by an 

earlier generation of Andean archaeologists and art historians 

(such as John Rowe or Alan Sawyer), recent scholarship has 

sidestepped this premise, not venturing to assert whether such 

a relationship exists or to establish its path of development and 

transmission. 

Mythological themes expressed elsewhere in the Andean realm 

are similarly refracted in Tiwanaku iconography. An abstracted 

celestial figure embodying the sun, thunder, lightning, rain 

and other weather or natural phenomena has a paramount 

role in the cosmologies of the southern sierra, altiplano and 

desert areas of present-day southern Peru, Bolivia, northern 

Chile and Argentina. Tiwanaku’s wide sphere of interaction 

and influence encompassed that region (a counterpoint to the 

northern and coastal territories that were incorporated into 

the contemporaneous Wari empire). And many of the textiles 

produced by those cultures have made it possible to define the 

attributes that differentiate the Tiwanaku and Wari aesthetics 

and their weaving technologies. 

A more mysterious body of textiles, purportedly emerging from 

the southern highlands and far south coastal valleys of Peru, has 

also been linked to Pukara and Tiwanaku styles. Andeanists are 

still debating whether this material represents a provincial variant 

of, or even the precursor to, the art and iconography realized 

so majestically at Tiwanaku. The most impressive textiles from 

The Gateway of the Sun at Tiwanaku, Bolivia. 

Adapted from Anton 1984, 103. 

13

133 

Band from a Tunic 

The Radiant Cosmic Deity (Staff God) 

Early Tiwanaku style, Southern Highlands 

AD 200-700 

Camelid wool; tapestry weave 

10" x 12½" 

The celestial and mountain symbolism of Tiwanaku art, 

sculpture and temple architecture are condensed in the 

figurative and abstract iconography of this textile. 

The large face ringed with a solar or thunderbolt corona 

represents an abbreviated (regional?) interpretation of the 

Cosmic Deity, best known from the iconic Sun Gateway. 

The modern title bestowed on the icon—the Staff God— 

hardly does justice to the totality of the metaphysical symbols 

and ideas packed into the figure, which had a profound and 

widespread impact on Andean ritual iconography during the 

Middle Horizon period (circa AD 500-1100). 

Like a rising or setting sun, the radiant head emerges above 

a stepped form that recalls the terraces of the sacred Akapana 

pyramid in the ceremonial city. A quivering, comb-like motif 

embedded in this geometric shape similarly evokes the water 

that was channeled through the site or which flowed from the 

nearby Choquepacha spring and other rivers originating in the 

sacred mountains visible on the horizon. Ultimately, all pre- 

Columbian temples refer to such cosmologically significant 

peaks. 

Concurrently, however, these two motifs are fused into an 

anthropomorphic figure that replicates the pose and features 

of the staff-bearing divinity depicted on the stone portal. The 

terraced platform becomes a patterned tunic or truncated body, 

and serpentine/bird motifs pointing down at each side suggest 

his staffs. Architectonic forms, also inlaid with bird faces, frame 

and separate each zone of the design, which was probably 

repeated along the span of a banded, red-ground tunic or shirt. 

The fragment belongs to a rare group of textiles that has been 

linked to a regional manifestation of the related, but distinct, 

Pukara and Tiwanaku traditions. Their origins are elusive, but 

the weavings are believed to have been unearthed in areas that 

lie closer to the Pacific coast than to the highlands around Lake 

Titicaca where those cultures arose. Their motifs and modes of 

representation, moreover, show affinity with certain early Sihuas 

themes (see cat. 14). Yet how those cultures interacted—or 

which one might have been the originator of the iconography— 

remains problematic. 

The Staff Divinity concept was well established throughout 

the Andes long before Tiwanaku’s influence radiated south and 

west along llama caravan networks, together with the trade in 

precious materials and prestigious goods. Tiwanaku’s visionaries 

appear to have blended that archaic icon with a southern sierra 

cosmological figure who personified thunder and lightning 

(known later as Tarapaca or Tunupa). 

The present understanding is that the Sun Portal was installed 

at Tiwanaku after AD 500. Curiously, numerous "regional"- 

style textiles displaying related imagery predate the gateway and 

presumably could not have been inspired by it. There are several 

plausible explanations for this, including the possibility that 

the gateway we know today is actually older, that it replaced 

an earlier version or that textiles actually supplied the design 

template for this important ritual and calendrical monument. 1 

1 Margaret Young-Sanchez, ed., Tiwanaku: Ancestors of the Inkas (2004): 36, 49. 

14

15

16

134 

Fragment from a Tunic 

Solar Deity with Feline Traits and Cactus 

Headdress 

Tiwanaku style, Southern Highlands 

AD 200-400 

Camelid wool; interlocking tapestry weave 

7½" x 10½" 

The charismatic personage portrayed on the Sun Portal at 

Tiwanaku was apparently envisioned in other forms as 

well. In this vibrant, visually complex interpretation, the solar 

face is reimagined as the countenance of a fierce cat, either a 

puma or a jaguar (based on markings around the mouth). Small, 

realistically rendered spotted cats, standing in poses of alert 

tension, flank the focal image and reinforce the characterization. 

The connotations of the image are manifold. The Aymara word 

titi (as in Lake Titicaca or Titikala, the sacred rock located on the 

Island of the Sun) means "puma." The terms underscores the 

feline’s association with water, stone and the lake of "cosmic and 

human origins" among highland peoples. 1 Indeed, teardrops 

signifying rain or water flow from the animal’s eyes. 

Rays and plumes encircling the face are delineated as winding, 

serpent-bodied creatures. Each features a different geometric 

pattern and shape, matched with the head of one of three 

animal archetypes corresponding to a specific cosmological 

domain. The striped “feathers" emerging at ear level terminate 

in a condor or raptor (Sky). The adjacent motif, rendered as a 

stepped triangle, features a puma head with a prominent snub 

nose and snail antennae (Earth). The third segmented form, 

shown from above, has the flat head and sinuous body of a 

snake (Water). 

The shamanic underpinning of the image is revealed by other 

symbols. Most significantly, a crown of cactus sprouts from 

the top of the feline's head (detail below). This multi-trunk, 

columnar form is tipped with triangular motifs representing 

the white flowers that bloom at the top of the night-blooming, 

hallucinogenic San Pedro cactus. This sign appears in other 

Tiwanaku iconography, notably on an engraved monolith 

known as the Bennett Stela or Monolith. 

This mind-altering plant (typically consumed in a brew mixed 

with chicha, a fermented corn beer) is known to be an important 

aspect of Tiwanaku and Wari ritualism. The symbolic link 

between feline and cactus is an ancient one in the Andes, and 

can be traced to Chavín art. Clearly that association was true 

of Tiwanaku ritual and iconography as well. 

1 John Wayne Janusek, Ancient Tiwanaku (2008): 4.135 

San Pedro cactus symbol 

17

135 

Band 

A Procession of Supernatural Birds 

Tiwanaku style 

AD 200-400 


3" x 15½" 

Stone lintels spanning the doorways and niches of Tiwanaku 

temples and palaces were carved with processions of 

supernatural llamas, pumas and birds. These fantastical figures 

adopt the same costumes, ritual accessories and sometimes 

stances of human dignitaries. 

Banded textiles and sashes echo the horizontal format and 

repeat imagery common to these decorative friezes. The 

sculptural reliefs are known to have been inlaid with gold or 

painted the same vivid hues seen in the weavings; archaeologists 

have found evidence of murals created with red, blue, green, 

white and orange pigments. 1 

18

Tiwanaku dyers had mastered the more challenging, time-consuming process of dyeing wool with indigo. And a deeply 

saturated blue is the most distinctive and characteristic color of this highland weaving tradition, supplying a midnight-dark 

ground against which bright red and white details flicker as if caught by torchlight. 

In this motif, the wings, talons, beak and cere of an eagle or condor are placed on a stocky, elongated torso that is more 

quadruped than avian in form (although the harpy eagle from the eastern rainforests actually shows this startling heft 

and solidity). This eccentric juxtaposition is not unique in Tiwanaku imagery. But the ambiguity of reference heightens 

the impression of mystery and otherness, while expressing a complex set of mythological allusions. The hybrid figure 

carries an unrecognizable object (bag, woven amulet, trophy head?) in lieu of the staff displayed by the retinue of winged 

attendants depicted on the Sun Gateway, to which it must be related. 

1 John Wayne Janusek, Ancient Tiwanaku (2008): 146. 

19

136 

Band or Belt 

A Procession of Felines 

Tiwanaku or Pukara style 

AD 100-400 


2½" x 25" 

The crouching pumas depicted in this narrow band are reminiscent of Pukara 

feline-shaped effigies and sculptural incense vessels that were used for burning 

ritual offerings. The cross motif apparently derives from the jaguar's pelt markings 

(as in Chavín feline mortars), but in the southern sierra it seems to have become a 

widely employed sign or cosmogram. The “raining" or “weeping" eye is similarly 

ubiquitous and symbolically charged. 

The composition is an undulating play of interlocking blues and greens. These 

harmonious hues surely had special connotations for being redolent of a greentinted 

gravel that was obtained from riverbeds in the sacred Quimsachata mountains 

and used to surface the terraces of the Akapana temple. 1 The meandering white 

outline separating these two colors, which are so close in chromatic value, leads the 

eye through the pattern field of geometric shapes. 

1 Alan Kolata, "The Flow of Cosmic Power," in Tiwanaku: Ancestors of the Inkas, ed. Margaret Young-Sanchez 

(2004): 100. 

20

21

137 


Avian Staff-Bearer 

Regional Tiwanaku style 

AD 400-800 

Camelid wool; interlocking tapestry 

14" x 11" 

This refined weaving, which interprets the eagle or condor 

incarnation of the staff-bearer in an exquisite range of 

colors and details, appears to have no equivalent in textile art 

or painted ceramics (according to the published literature). The 

rich color combination—especially the masterful manipulation 

of various shades of indigo blue—is, however, characteristic 

of the Tiwanaku aesthetic. The luminous palette may reflect 

a peripheral tradition (from northern Chile?) and the superb 

quality speaks to the elite context in which the garment was 

produced and worn. 

This unconventional image does not conform either to the 

Pukara style exemplified by previous entries, or to later Wari 

geometricization. The style of visualization is less formalized 

and more naturalistic—even painterly—enjoying remarkable 

freedom from the rigid application of aesthetic canons evident 

in those other traditions. 

The design nevertheless has a modular structure, so that 

the figure and his regalia are composed from stacked blocks 

either of solid color or of beautiful geometric configurations 

featuring soft triangles, squares and circles. 

An unusual headdress, consisting of feathers or metal tabs(?) 

that diminish in size as it wraps over the head, is studded with a 

distinctive motif that evokes the white cup-shaped flower and 

fruit of the San Pedro cactus. 

Other details of the composition are in deteriorated condition. 

But several stand out as either unique or tantalizing, including 

the green-and-red diamond-cross panel (a cloth or bag?) set 

on top of the staff; the flared, dentated shape of the tunic; and 

the ornamental discs dangling from the waistband. 

22

23

138 

Fragment from a Tunic Band 

A Cult or Ritual Personage with Hallucinogenic Staffs 


AD 200-800 


5¼" x 3¼" 

The naturalism of this image is exceptional within the 

repertoire of Tiwanaku mythic icons, which are noted for 

their dense visual and symbolic intricacy. In addition, it supplies 

essential insight into the ritual practices of this culture, offering a 

rare glimpse of the role of “real" people such as shamans, priests 

or other cult participants in Tiwanaku religion and ceremony. 

The personage is presented in profile view, but with his torso 

twisted forward in order to best exhibit the staffs he carries in 

each hand. A puma emblem is either tattooed or painted on 

his chest, or is part of the design of a patterned garment with a 

tie-dyed border or sash. Ornamental strands (beads? feathers?) 

dangle from the ritualist’s ear and neck, while a serpentine 

crown with bird and plant ornamentation adds 

a supernatural touch to the otherwise realistic 

portrayal. 

The most valuable information to be gleaned from 

the image lies in the depiction of the two staffs, 

which are decorated with the same concentric 

(tie-dyed?) circles as the waistband. Each emblem 

is capped with a distinctive magical plant symbol. 

The motif adorning the top of the staff in front (as 

well as the headdress) is a stylized representation 

of the leaves and flowers of Anadenanthera 

colubrina (widely known as vilca) (detail at left). Seeds extracted 

from the giant pods of this tree were pulverized to produce 

a psychoactive snuff that was fundamental to Tiwanaku ritual. 

The pervasiveness and extent of this activity is evident from the 

abundance of finely crafted snuff tables and paraphernalia that 

has been unearthed throughout the Tiwanaku world. 

The finial of the second staff (shown in back of 

the figure) represents a flowering San Pedro cactus 

(detail at right). The same motif is seen in the 

corolla of the feline divinity portrayed in cat. 134, 

and is engraved as well on the torso of the giant 

ancestral effigy known as the Bennett Monolith 

that was enshrined at Tiwanaku. 

This explicit juxtaposition of the two plants 

sacred to Andean ceremonialism is of enormous 

significance—especially for determining the 

meaning of the staff, which is a crucial emblem and 

multivalent signifier in both Tiwanaku and Wari 

iconography. The way the motifs are utilized here is further 

evidence that the staff placed in the hand of the winged Wari 

staff-bearer may not only designate a transcendent state or 

status, but in certain contexts, could depict the actual cactus 

itself. 

24

25

139 

Fragment from the Border of a Tunic 

Votive Head 


AD 160-430 

Camelid wool; interlocking tapestry weave, chain-stitch 

4¾" x 7¾" 

This fiercely compelling face is identical to motifs 

embellishing the borders and sleeves of a rare style of Early 

Tiwanaku or Pukara tunic. These ultra-prestigious garments 

were vehicles for the display of iconography based on the 

celestial or solar cosmic being at the center of the Tiwanaku 

religious vision. They were undoubtedly worn by individuals of 

the highest social or spiritual rank. 

In one extant tunic, 1 the heads are arranged along the lower 

edge—the typical location for a trophy-head border in Andean 

textile design. They may very well symbolize votive heads 

dedicated to the deity or his human intercessors. But their eyes 

are open and piercing, suggesting life rather than death. 

Like this example, the heads portray males of ambiguous, 

but evidently high, status. The characters wear headdresses 

composed of tipped, fan-shaped elements resembling feathers, 

which were indeed often incorporated into Andean head 

adornments. But the form also replicates the centerpiece of 

the Cactus Crown worn by the deity in cat. 134, and based on 

other iconographic evidence from this tradition, it is feasible 

that it may represent a large, stylized cactus flower instead. 

Although they sport similar headgear and ear discs, each of the 

five figures repeated on that related tunic is distinguished by 

a different face design. These striking compositional elements 

inject visual variety and asymmetry into the pattern sequence; 

they may also convey information about the individuals 

portrayed. 

For while this particular face is isolated and cannot be 

considered as part of a larger grouping, the hook symbol 

emblazoned on his check is also seen on a head anchoring the 

lower corner of the published tunic. The coincidence suggests 

that both textiles were produced in the same workshop, or that 

their designs were standardized. However, it is also credible 

that the markings are ethnic or social signifiers. 

The image therefore supports multiple interpretations. It 

may represent the severed head of a warrior or other human 

sacrifice. It could also denote any one of the many groups 

incorporated, either through defeat or peacefully, into the 

Tiwanaku sphere. Or it may stand for one of the lineages or 

groups (ayllus) comprising the community in which the tunic 

was used or displayed. 

1 The related tunic is published and discussed in Margaret Young-Sanchez, ed., 

Tiwanaku: Ancestors of the Inkas (2004): 41-43. 

27

140 

Shaped Sash or Votive Panel (partially complete) 

Mythical Fox 

Pukara style, Southern Highlands 

200 BC-AD 200 

Camelid wool (warp and weft); tapestry weave 

5" x 8½" 

Asmall body of inventively shaped tapestry weavings has 

been instrumental in defining the Pukara textile style, 

which is considered to be influential in the development of 

Tiwanaku art. They are believed to have been found at some 

distance from the Pukara ceremonial zone north of Lake 

Titicaca, however—either in the western highlands, the south 

coast or the upper coastal valleys of the Arequipa region. Only 

some half-dozen pieces are documented, which are among the 

most innovative and puzzling textiles in the Andean tradition. 

The textiles are also recognized for being the earliest evidence 

of the use of the interlocking tapestry technique, which became 

the foundation of the Wari tunic style. 1 

The panels are of unknown purpose, and were possibly made 

as talismans or accessories worn as part of a ceremonial or 

ritual ensemble. The imagery suggests they were associated 

with trophy-head cult activities and beliefs. 

The textiles, which resemble two-dimensional reliefs or 

sculptural plinths executed in cloth, represent a striking 

synthesis of form and image. The contoured weavings, entirely 

selvedged on all sides, outline the forms of mythical figures 

or animals. Details such as feet, hands, face and staffs or spears 

project into space. The curvilinear, irregular shape reflects the 

use of a single continuous warp, although whether this was 

determined by the shape of the loom or some other approach 

is not clear (see Conklin 1983 for technical analysis). 

This panel is only partially intact but can be compared to 

another extant, complete version. 2 Although the head is 

missing, the upright brushy tail appears to belong to a fox. In 

highland lore, the canid is actually regarded as the “younger 

brother" of the puma, but it has its own specific mythological 

associations within the feline symbolic complex. In the related 

piece, moreover, the animal is depicted holding a spear and 

ferrying a severed head (embellished with real human hair) in 

its mouth. Fortunately, one dramatic detail from that image is 

still preserved here, i.e., the headless, naked body of the victim 

draped over the rump of the predator. 

Ferocity is implicit, and this fox is evidently a supernatural 

sacrificer or agent of death. The skeletal ribs drawn on the 

prone human figure typically also denote shamanic beings, as 

well as the dead (especially in Early Nasca iconography, which 

seems to have ties to Pukara). The bones apparently signal the 

altered or transcendent state brought about by a ritual killing. 

The peculiar addition of an open beak to the stump of the 

victim’s neck, conjuring a stylized bird head, underscores this 

message. 

The male victim appears to be a defeated enemy (ironically, 

he, too, carries severed heads in both hands). The pointed tip 

of an arrow or dart (top right) is the only surviving element 

from the “captured" bundle of weapons depicted on other 

versions. This theme appears elsewhere in Pukara imagery, a 

strong indication that ethnic conflict played a role in the rise 

of this highland culture. 

1 William Conklin, "Pucara and Tiahuanaco Tapestry: Time and Style in a Sierra 

Weaving Tradition," Nawpa Pacha 21, (1983). 

2 Margaret Young-Sanchez, ed., Tiwanaku: Ancestors of the Inkas (2004) 39-40: Fig 2.21. 

29

141 

Shaped Sash or Votive Panel 

Mythical Caiman 

Pukara style, Southern Highlands 

200 BC-AD 200 

Camelid wool (warp and weft); tapestry weave 

4½" x 20" 

The connection between Chavín and Tiwanaku iconography—especially the 

vision of a supernatural figure with staffs—is acknowledged by many Andean art 

historians. However, knowledge is lacking as to how this fundamental theme (and other 

Chavín ideas) might have been transplanted, or later revived, across such an expanse 

of time and space. Unless such a conception was already widely and deeply embedded 

in the Andean imagination, the links in the chain, indeed the putative pathway of 

transmission from the central to the southern highlands, remains to be traced. 

Nonetheless, this rare, shaped Pukara textile also implies familiarity with the stone 

obelisk depicting a pair of mythical caimans that was installed at the ceremonial center 

of Chavín de Huántar many centuries before. Chavín was still regarded as an oracle 

center as late as the 17th century, so pilgrimage to that shrine by many generations 

of pre-Columbian peoples might have played a part in spreading Chavín symbolism. 

30

Caiman divinities were also represented in the painted hangings 

found at Karwa on the south coast of Peru, i.e., the very region 

that subsequently developed a relationship with the Titicaca 

Basin cultures. 

In this unique shaped, talismanic weaving, 1 which abounds 

with inexplicable, surrealist details, the caiman has been 

integrated with a staff or spear-carrying human figure. A 

macabre headdress composed out of two severed human arms 

with oversized grasping hands, and jaguar markings around the 

fanged mouth, confirm an inner rapacity. The fusion speaks of 

shamanic conversion and dangerous powers. 

While the elongated form and tail fin of the plant-laden Chavín 

icon are echoed in this design, the vertebrae of the spinal 

column, as well as the joints, are re-interpreted as skulls. Other 

fleshy heads stud the creature’s body like so many kernels or 

fruits. The conjunction of the two motifs connotes life out of 

death, for in pre-Columbian Andean thought, bone and seed 

are visual and symbolic analogies. More tellingly here, an 

element attached to the slings hanging from the elbow and 

etched on the cheek appears to refer simultaneously to the 

trance-inducing vilca plant and a corncob (signifying both a 

food crop and a fermented beverage drunk ceremonially). 

1 William Conklin, "Pucara and Tiahuanaco Tapestry: Time and Style in a Sierra 

Weaving Tradition." Nawpa Pacha 21 (1983): 1–44. 

31

142 

Band 

Dismembered Warrior 

Pukara style 

Circa AD 100-400 

Camelid wool; tapestry weave with paired warps 

7¾" x 1⅓" 

This band shows a striking likeness to several Pukara and Tiwanaku stone 

sculptures from the environs of Lake Titicaca, notably a stela depicting the 

disarticulated form of a male warrior. 1 Here the similarly disjointed head, arm 

and leg of the figure are outlined on a rust-red background in a style that 

strongly recalls the faceted surface of the carved stone. 

The date attributed to that stela, circa 200 BC-AD 200, overlaps with the 

probable date of this tapestry band. Although it is not clear which version of this 

disconcerting image—stone or cloth—represents the prototype, the two works 

evidently refer to the same myth or history. This is borne out by the identical 

attributes of the individual portrayed. Both warrior-victims feature an angular, 

serpentine design painted or tattooed around their eyes and a distinctive long, 

pointy braid or lock of hair, which suggest ethnic or group identifiers. The 

crook of the arm, the spread hands and the anklets, wristbands, and trophy-head 

joints are depicted in similar fashion. 

However, the knife tucked into the decorated sheath or band wrapped around 

the top of the thigh reflect the weaver’s greater ability to employ color to 

incorporate additional details (which may very well have been applied to the 

stone rendering with paint). 

The grisly act or history that can be inferred from this tableau describes the 

kind of ritualized violence and sacrificial practices that were common in 

pre-Columbian warfare. Human bodies, body parts and skulls were also 

entombed as dedicatory offerings under important buildings at both Tiwanaku 

and Pukara. 

Drawing adapted from 

Young-Sanchez 2004, fig. 3.8. 

1 The sculpture, found in Moho on the eastern lakeshore, is now in the collection of the Peabody 

Museum, Cambridge, MA, and is published in Margaret Young-Sanchez, ed., Tiwanaku: Ancestors of the Inkas 

(2004): fig. 3.8. 

32

33

WARI

Wari Culture 

The Wari Empire, which took shape in the Ayacucho 

Valley of the central sierra around AD 500 and 

expanded outward over the following five centuries, 

was Tiwanaku's complement in every respect. Indeed, the 

two cultures were initially thought to be branches of a single 

tradition emanating from Tiwanaku. Today's more nuanced 

perspective recognizes that each culture developed concurrently 

but independently. They coexisted for much of this period 

as distinct, complex societies with separate domains—and 

dynamics—of influence and control. 

The exact nature of the relationship or alliance between these 

two regional powers remains obscure, however. Nevertheless, 

both the Wari and the Tiwanaku cultures forcefully drove 

the religious and artistic phenomena that swept the Andean 

region between AD 400 and 1000, conveyed most effectively 

by textile art. 

Unlike the rich body of monumental sculpture and friezes 

portraying cosmological imagery preserved at Tiwanaku, the 

palatial, ritual, and administrative buildings in Wari cities and 

settlements have yielded no public art. Yet Wari textiles and 

painted pottery discovered in highland and coastal locations 

alike document the influx, rapid adaptation and subsequent 

transformation of Tiwanaku's religious and artistic themes. 

Wari did not merely appropriate this sacred or prestigious 

iconography. It clearly subscribed to the cosmic vision, 

spreading its version via military domination across southcentral 

and northern Peru. Why, or how, it came to do so is 

unresolved. 

That cosmology focused on the resplendent Cosmic or Staff 

Deity (Tiwanaku's Sun Gateway God) and his coterie of 

fantastical animal or human retainers. For unknown reasons, 

Wari artists employed different media for expressing this 

imagery. The Staff Deity is painted on pottery vessels, especially 

those that were used for communal feasting and rituals; most 

of these ceramics were found ceremonially smashed. However, 

this paramount divinity never appears in the designs of the 

tapestry tunics that were Wari's highest-status garments and its 

most emblematic art form. Instead, the standardized format of 

these textiles concentrates on the staff-bearing attendant in his 

many incarnations. 

The extensive repertory of staff-bearer icons yields numerous 

exceptions and idiosyncratic variations. But generally, this 

mythical personage is shown in profile on bended knee, as if 

kneeling, running or flying. The head is frequently contorted 

or twisted upward as if in a state of trance or transcendence. 

Whatever its outward guise, the shamanistic figure is usually 

winged and laden with a heavy crown that is more like a raft 

of symbols than a literal headdress. In fact, the figure is strongly 

allegorical and most of its attributes and decorative motifs 

seemingly serve a descriptive purpose. 

Wari image-makers incorporated a Ritual Sacrificer into this 

core mythical group. (In some renderings the character is 

conflated with the staff-bearer, who thus displays the victim 

or his severed head.) This frightening individual is typically 

endowed with the fanged mouth, claws or markings of a 

predatory cat; more rarely, the personage may be represented 

as a llama (identified by its elongated skull and cloven hoof) 1 or 

another ferocious creature from the Andean bestiary. 

Staff-bearers assume the upright stance of human beings, but 

tend to occupy different places along the spectrum of human/ 

animal forms. Certain figures are transitional; they acquire beaks 

or fangs but retain human feet and hands. This intermediary 

36

state clearly either alludes to a shamanic transfiguration or 

animal/human duality, or describes metaphorical powers and 

traits borrowed from the animal realm that serve to reinforce 

the wearer's rank, role or special qualities. 

Scholars have made progress unraveling the connotations of 

recurrent symbols (although there is not always consensus 

about their meanings). The motifs are all the more cryptic 

for the paucity of cultural and historical information, and 

the incomplete archaeological record. But as highlighted in 

the individual captions in this catalogue, they include stylized 

plants, human trophies and objects or materials imbued with 

special magical or spiritual properties for Andean peoples (such 

as feathers or fire). 

Among the most significant of these visual signs are ones 

codifying the sacramental plants with hallucinogenic 

properties—San Pedro cactus and Anadenanthera colubrina— 

that were crucial to Andean ritualism and the altered states 

of mind such rites promoted. Similarly, another hitherto 

mysterious motif is now understood to represent the heart, 

lungs and trachea of a person who has been ritually killed or 

decapitated, usually in connection with fertility cults. 2 

The deciphering of this arcane symbology is far from complete, 

and will add immensely to our understanding of Wari culture 

and ritual as it proceeds. The abstract Wari aesthetic, on the other 

hand, is more readily analyzed for its unique formal properties, 

which were rigorously observed and creatively manipulated by 

Wari weavers. Despite the modern viewer's appreciation for this 

virtuoso geometric aesthetic, Wari abstraction is intellectually 

and perceptually challenging. 

The ordering of the figures and the organization of visual space 

are generally predetermined by Wari artistic canons, which 

nonetheless admit some variety, as well as locally derived ideas 

about format and theme. The large, squarish tunic generally 

consists of two rectangular panels, folded in half and sewn 

together in the center and at each side. This plane is generally 

The Staff-Bearing Attendant on the Gateway of the Sun at Tiwanaku. 


37

subdivided into multiple symmetrical columns of varying 

width and number. Patterned bands alternate with areas of 

solid color, usually gold or red. (A small number of tunics 

replace this standardized layout with atypical configurations, 

all-over patterning or even large-scale figuration.) 

The primary motif—whether a staff-bearing character or 

other supernatural or a profile or frontal face, or an abstract 

element like a spiral or fret—is repeated within all the vertical 

bands. And it is the dynamic, malleable treatment of this figure 

that is so visually arresting. The figure is typically subjected to 

a series of artistic conventions that result in its compression, 

expansion, inversion or reversal. The process ultimately leads to 

the total distortion of its modular parts and overall form. 

Each motif is composed using a stock vocabulary of rectilinear 

and curvilinear figurative or schematic elements. This 

constructivist approach to creating a figure out of geometric 

blocks—which are modified in shape, in scale and by color, 

according to an internal pattern scheme—yields mosaic-like 

designs. The compositions range markedly in their degree of 

visual cohesion and legibility—even to the point of visual 

fracture, when the geometricization and distortion are pushed 

to an extreme. 

The orientation of the motifs in the patterned bands also 

follows an internal logic established by the weaver or weaving 

workshop. The repeat figures are juxtaposed, inverted, doubled 

or paired in ingenious ways. Depending on whether they are 

read on the vertical axis, as horizontal rows or in diagonal 

arrangements, some figures are shown twisting in opposite 

directions, for example, while others may face the same way, or 

mirror each other across the center seam. 

This pattern of alternation is further complicated by the 

rhythmic magnification and condensation of the smaller 

components or details of the design (such as a wing, staff, 

head or headdress). These shifts visibly alter the proportions, 

delineation and clarity of the overall image. 

If this process were not sufficiently confounding, it also 

intersects with a sophisticated use of color, which is applied in 

predictable combinations that recur in a fixed number, order 

and direction across the entire compositional field of the tunic. 

Even though these color clusters, or blocks of associated colors, 

are repeated at regular intervals, they are aligned and staggered 

on parallel diagonal lines that may converge, cross or move 

up and down in opposite directions. This progression can be 

mapped graphically, as Susan Bergh has done. But because the 

faceted surface and prismatic color usually mask the underlying 

order, it not easily distinguishable by the viewer. Moreover, 

randomly placed and arbitrary color substitutions, or deviations 

in the hue of any one element, large or small (an aesthetic 

predilection common to Andean weavers from all cultures and 

periods), may further disrupt the sequence, thus baffling most 

readings. (This type of analysis is particularly difficult to grasp 

when the textile is incomplete or fragmentary.) 

Why most Wari tunic iconography focuses almost exclusively 

on the attendant staff-bearer, rather than the primary waka 

or Cosmic/Creator Deity, is unanswerable. It may have to 

do with the political and military nature of the Wari state. 

Perhaps this imperial society took on the role of proselytizer 

of the Tiwanaku (or highland) religious vision. Or, possibly, 

its officials saw themselves as members of a “divine legion" 

who paid veneration to the Cosmic Deity and sought to direct 

the resources of the larger Andean realm toward it (while 

benefitting from the power and control over such resources). 

The result of this cultural imperative was a powerful artistic 

vision that encoded its message of shamanistic transcendence 

in a collectively created visual and symbolic language that left 

room for individual genius. 

1 Susan E. Bergh, “Tapestry Woven Tunics," in Wari. Lords of the Ancient Andes, ed. 

Susan E. Bergh (2012): 166. 

2 Anita Cook, “The Coming of the Staff Deity," in ibid., 112-113. 

TheWinged, Avian Staff-Bearer on the Gateway of the Sun at Tiwanaku. 


38

39

143 


Staff-Bearer with Cactus Motifs 

Wari culture 

AD 600-900 


7" x 5" 

The Tiwanaku Sun Gateway, with its vision of a radiant 

Cosmic Deity framed by a multitude of running or 

kneeling attendants brandishing shamanic staffs, is regarded as 

the core expression of Andean highland religion. 

The monumental sculptural frieze switches between two 

renditions of this winged attendant, which is replicated in 

horizontal rows flanking the cosmic icon. One version of 

the figure has a human face; the other is transformed into a 

bird with the conspicuous beak of one of the large raptors or 

vultures that dominate the Andean skies, such as the condor or 

harpy eagle. 

Wari tunic design typically selects one of these two icons, 

but also conceives other variants of the figure, including one 

endowed with feline characteristics. Here the staff-bearer 

retains human form but acquires a fanged mouth and a doubled 

open/split eye. The image is rendered in a style moving toward 

overall geometric abstraction, emphasizing the play of circular, 

square and rectangular shapes distributed throughout the 

composition. Recent scholarship has been reluctant to pursue 

(and even refutes) connections between Chavín iconography 

and the traditions that developed subsequently in the southern 

sierra. However, this link is awakened by the proposition that 

certain renderings of the Wari staff emblem either directly 

represent the San Pedro cactus, or allude to it via a distinctive 

candelabra-like finial and headdress ornament. 

Recent scholarship has been reluctant to pursue (and even 

refutes) connections between Chavín iconography and the 

traditions that developed subsequently in the southern sierra. 

However, this link is awakened by the proposition that certain 

renderings of the Wari staff emblem either directly represent 

the San Pedro cactus, or allude to it via a distinctive candelabralike 

finial and headdress ornament. 

At Chavín de Huántar, a ritualist bearing a naturalistic San 

Pedro cactus is portrayed in a procession converging on a 

paramount deity. If information from that scene is transposed 

to Wari iconography, and the connective tissue supplied 

by Tiwanaku imagery of the magic cactus is taken into 

consideration, it is tenable to interpret this staff motif as also 

signifying that sacred plant, which was a pan-Andean agent of 

psychedelic experience. 

The tri- or multipart branching motif, which evokes a cluster of 

flower-tipped cactus stalks, dominates this design. It decorates 

both the headdress and the staff (“expanded" following the 

classic Wari stylistic conventions), and in a visual pun on the 

shape of a feather, it is conflated with the wing. The element 

is also placed upside-down behind the rear arched foot, thus 

diagonally echoing the identical emblem embellishing the top 

of the staff and deftly balancing the composition. 

40

144 


Avian Attendant Bearing Vilca 

Wari culture 

AD 600-900 


10" x 8½" 

A 

theme of shamanic duality underpins the depiction of the 

staff-bearers surrounding the Cosmic Deity on the Sun 

Portal at Tiwanaku. 

The retinue comprises two distinct figures that are multiplied 

in three rows across the span of the frieze. Apart from subtle 

variations in the placement or combination of symbolic details, 

the regalia and profile running stances of each figure are 

identical—yet their heads (and feet) reveal an essential contrast. 

In the upper and lower registers of the design, winged staffbearers 

with human features maintain a forward gaze on the 

paramount deity. In the center row, however, the personage 

takes on the craned head and powerful beak of a crested eagle 

or hawk. 

This dramatic alternation implies a shamanic or ecstatic 

transfiguration, and indeed a symbol for the spirit plant 

Anadenanthera colubrina or vilca is carved on the face of the birdheaded 

attendant. The taking of hallucinogenic powders derived 

from the crushed seeds of this mimosa-like tree was prevalent 

across the Tiwanaku sphere. Several of the monumental figural 

sculptures enshrined at the ceremonial center portray mythical 

ancestors or ritualists holding snuff tablets, and a large array 

of snuffing paraphernalia has been unearthed throughout the 

region (especially in northern Chile and Argentina. 

As this exceptionally beautiful woven image demonstrates, 

the raptor’s supernatural association with this particular 

psychoactive plant was carried into Wari imagery. Like birds 

depicted on many Tiwanaku painted vessels, the eagle-headed 

figure conspicuously grasps the vilca seedpod in its beak. But 

the reference is also encoded in a schematic element that is 

prominently integrated into the design. The striated stirrupshape 

topped with two circles, which sprouts from the headdress, 

eye, shoulder and knees, has been interpreted as a stylization of 

the globular flowers and leaves of Anadenanthera. 1 

It seems likely that the raptor was regarded as the “spirit" or 

mythical benefactor of this hallucinogen—aptly so, because 

the substance induces a strong sensation of flying. In the 

Andean cosmovision, moreover, eagles, hawks and falcons 

escort shamans to the upper levels of the cosmos. As the true 

masters of the sky, endowed with extraordinary gifts of flight 

and eyesight, they are fitting attendants for a solar and thunder 

divinity such as Tiwanaku’s Staff Deity. 

Yet Wari ideas differed from Tiwanaku, and are often more 

bellicose. Although this interpretation is largely faithful to the 

stone image, the shamanic bird actually carries a severed head 

instead of the usual staff. (Although this pertinent detail is now 

missing from this fragment, it is known from other sections of 

the same tunic. 2 The trophy-head motif, which connects the 

icon with Wari ritual sacrifice and warfare, revives notions of 

this bird as an arch predator and fierce hunter. 

Vilca Symbols on Eye, Chest and Headdress 

1 Patricia Knobloch, “Wari Ritual Power at Conchopata: An Interpretation of 

Anadenanthera Colubrina Iconography,” Latin American Antiquity 11, no. 4 (2000): 387- 

402. 

2 Ibid. 

43

145 

Fragment from the Shoulder of a Tunic 

A Male and Female Pair of Condor Staff-Bearers 

Wari culture 

AD 600-900 


19" x 5½" 

The entire body of Wari tunic iconography can be charted 

on a design spectrum, moving inexorably towards an 

endpoint of total abstraction. Indeed, this trajectory might 

be considered the apogee of an Andean textile aesthetic that 

began a millennium earlier with the modular constructivism of 

Chavín imagery. 

Since the tapestry tunics were produced over a period of at 

least 500 years, time was clearly a contributing factor in this 

progression. Several hypotheses have also been advanced to 

explain this fascinating development. Alan Sawyer proposed, 

for example, that the patterning was increasingly compressed 

toward the outer edges of the tunic in order to create the 

impression of a rounded volumetric or cylindrical shape that 

overrides the flat, square format of the garment.1 William 

Conklin has suggested, on the other hand, that the visual 

distortion that occurs as the image is repeated across the vertical 

bands reflects an Andean concept of one (or multiple) cosmic 

horizons toward which the flying mythical figure recedes (or 

from which it emerges), diminishing in scale and angle as it 

vanishes (or appears) in the distance. 2 

The result of the rectilinear compression and fracturing of 

the figure is evident in this interpretation of the staff-bearer 

attendant. Although partially outlined with a crisp white 

thread, the delineation barely compensates for the extreme 

compartmentalization of the avian form into myriad elliptical, 

square, oblong, circular, chevron, and irregularly shaped color 

blocks. The head of the bird is especially elusive, to the point 

of merging with the indigo background (top). That gives 

prominence to both the distinctive hooked beak of the bird 

of prey and the bisected eye, which is wrapped in a stylized 

creature that magnifies or shrinks in size depending on the 

width allocated to the figure's head. 

Despite its cryptic quality, this Wari variant nevertheless 

incorporates the same curious motif that adorns the birdheaded 

attendant represented on the Sun Portal. The element, 

which consists of a small face with an exaggerated, upturned 

mouth, is thought to depict the now-extinct Lake Titicaca 

Oresteia’s fish. 3 Here this schematic face is set at the tip of the 

staff, behind the foot and below the wing. Perhaps inspired by 

a fish eagle, the motif surely links this supernatural personage 

with that vast lake, which was regarded as a place of mythic and 

primordial origin. 

The iconography of this fragment is identical to that of a 

tunic excavated by Max Uhle at Pachacamac, the powerful 

ceremonial and oracle center on the central coast. 4 Without 

knowing whether these related textiles were actually woven 

there or brought from the highlands, it is impossible to say 

whether the mythic significance of this fish motif was still 

pertinent among coastal peoples—or if the loss of context 

in fact stripped it and others of their specific meanings, thus 

promoting the general stylization and reduction of form. 

1 Alan Sawyer, "Tiahuanaco Tapestry Design," Textile Museum Journal 1, no. 2 (1963): 

27-38. 

2 William Conklin, "The Mythic Geometry of the Ancient Southern Sierra," in The 

Junius B. Bird Conference 1984, ed. Anne Pollard Rowe (1986): 123-137. 

3 John Wayne Janusek, Ancient Tiwanaku (2008): fig. 5.5. 

4 Max Uhle, Pachacamac (1903): plate 4, fig. 2. 

44

146 

Fragment from the Shoulder of a Tunic 

A Male and Female Pair of Condor Staff-Bearers 

Wari culture 

AD 600-900 


19" x 5½" 

The tendency toward ever-increasing abstraction in Wari 

textile art was a collective phenomenon, surely driven 

as much by individual artistry as by the imposition of an 

official aesthetic. Certainly, local styles and themes might 

have influenced the development of Wari design. That aspect 

might be better understood if it were possible to determine 

the geographic location of various weaving workshops, thereby 

associating stylistic nuances and innovations with distinct 

regions (north/south or coast/highlands). 

In this case, the compressed rectilinearity and complexity 

of the image may not solely reflect the band’s proximity to 

the outer sides of the tunic, but also suggests an intensified 

approach to figural deconstruction and distortion. The play of 

elongated elements on both the vertical and horizontal axes is 

especially pronounced. 

Without recourse to the overall composition and to the 

matching parallel bands of design, the alternating diagrammatic 

figures are best decoded through comparison with related 

iconography. Two avian staff-bearers alternate in the sequence, 

switching back and forth in direction, and expanding or 

contracting according to typical Wari canons. The pattern 

mosaic obscures a subtle differentiation of attribute and 

geometry in each image. 1 

The most significant distinction is that one of the pair 

(bottom) displays a large knob on its beak, which apparently 

alludes to the comb or caruncle of the male condor, while 

the other (center) does not, just like the female of the species. 

The distinctive shape of this beak indicates that the feature is 

deliberate, and that its omission on the second figure is not due 

to a design constriction. The duality suggests a male and female 

couple, which is a novel variant on the staffbearer theme. (Such 

gendered pairs are common among representations of songbirds 

and hummingbirds in Early Nasca embroidery. 2 ) 

This dualistic opposition is carried through in terms of form 

and motif. The wing tips, talons, and headdress of the male 

bird are defined with curving lines. In the female, those traits 

are demarcated with straight lines; in fact, her feet and hands 

are humanlike. The small animal heads appended to the edges 

of the wings and crowns are also varied: one is catlike, the 

other has an exaggerated black-and-white beak, like that of 

the macaw. 

1 The third partial figure seen at the top of the band reflects the change in direction 

that occurred at the shoulder line of the tunic. 

2 Mary Frame, “Motion Pictures: Symmetry as Animator, Classifier, and Syntax in the 

Nasca Embroideries of Peru,” in Symmetry Comes of Age: The Role of Pattern in Culture, 

ed. Dorothy Washburn and Donald Crowe (2004): 133-176. 

46

Duality expressed through figure and form is a key attribute of the 

Wari aesthetic—a concept explicitly conveyed by this juxtaposition 

of two shamanic personages. As seen in other sections of the same textile 

(now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the Museo 

Chileno de Arte Precolombino, Santiago), these large, marvelous figures 

march across the entire design field of the tunic, no longer confined to 

the vertical patterned band. 1 

The personages are opposite but complementary. One is a striking 

jaguar being with vivid black and green pelt markings, the other a 

supernaturally enhanced human dignitary or ritualist. Their wings, 

fanged mouths, headdresses and staffs command sacred status. 

This animal/human dynamic is a fundamental principal of pre- 

Columbian mythology. The jaguar was not known in the central and 

southern highlands, where Wari imagery originated. But in the jungle 

hierarchy, the jaguar was supreme, and that idea was certainly transmitted 

to, and reinterpreted by, various Andean cultures. The animal was 

widely adopted as an avatar of leadership, warrior ferocity and spiritual 

potency—connotations that come alive in this iconography. 

Jaguar nature is also shamanic nature according to most South American 

indigenous peoples. So the alternation of the two characters implies a 

transfiguration, usually revealed in a ritual or trance state induced by 

a hallucinogen. A decorative border (top), consisting of stylized San 

Pedro cactus motifs, acknowledges the source. 

The graphic elements of the composition are outstanding, with a 

combination of multicolored spots and concentric circles offset by 

chevrons and wavy, curlicue and eccentric lines. Large target-like circles 

emphasize the eye, heart and joints—vulnerable or symbolic places on 

the body that are typically accentuated in Andean iconography. The use 

of black is especially pronounced and most concentrated in the jaguar 

character, which dominates the design, seizing both eye and message. 

There could not be a more impressive garment for a ruler, warlord or 

high priest. 

1 Douglas Newton, Masterpieces of Primitive Art: The Nelson A. Rockefeller Collection (1978): 193. 

48

147 

Panel from a Tunic 

Winged Jaguar and Human Staffbearers 

Wari culture 

Circa AD 950 


7" x 18¼" 

Literature 

Frame 1990, 6, fig. 3. 

Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino 2010, 35. 

49

148 


Ecstatic Staff-Bearer (Camelid? Puma?) 

Wari culture 

AD 500-800 


7" x 18¼" 

In Wari design, the mechanisms of abstraction and the 

layout of the patterned bands not only generate a sideways 

compression and distortion of the image. The process can also 

exert internal pressure on the alternating motifs from top to 

bottom—as in this composition, which oscillates between a 

relatively legible icon (below) and a nearly incomprehensible 

compressed form subsumed into a conglomeration of 

geometric shapes (above). 

While the abstract aesthetic in Wari tapestry design appears to 

have gained momentum over time, the stylistic evolution was 

not linear. Andean weavers always had at their disposal two 

sophisticated modes (figurative and abstract) for patterning 

fabric and encoding cosmological and cultural ideas. The Wari 

tradition also produced garments that were purely geometric 

in conception and layout, such as the scintillating tie-dyed 

mantles associated with the Nasca coastal region. But the 

synthesis of the two modalities, which occurs in the tapestrywoven 

tunics, is visually and intellectually unique. 

Tiwanaku and Pukara iconography tapped feline imagery 

extensively, using the animal as an exponent of spiritual 

vitality, as well as an atavistic metaphor for sacrificial killing. 

Plumbing the symbolic link between wildcat and San Pedro 

cactus, Wari tunic iconography similarly gives primacy to 

the feline, alongside the bird of prey, as an avatar of shamanic 

transcendence. But although the particular incarnation of the 

ecstatic staff-bearer seen here is usually interpreted as having 

feline attributes, Susan Bergh suggests now that its "twofingered 

hand" alludes to the cloven hoof of a camelid or 

deer. 1 In any case, the character’s upturned head followed by 

the emergence of the animal claw and bared teeth signal a 

shape-shifting brought on by a psychotropic plant. 

This magical alteration is mirrored on the visual plane, where 

the geometric fragmentation of the figure invokes the kinds 

of optical effects triggered by the taking of hallucinogens. The 

design seemingly acknowledges that sort of experience, and 

indeed might have been intended to affect the viewer in the 

same way. 

1 Susan E. Bergh,"Tapestry-Woven Tunics," in Wari. Lords of the Ancient Andes, ed. 

Susan E. Bergh (2012): 166-167. 

50

149 


Transforming Staff-Bearers 

Wari culture 

AD 600-900 

Camelid wool; interlocking tapestry weave, 

selvedged on one side 

13" x 13¼" 

A 

Stylized vilca 

B 

San Pedro Cactus? 

C 

Stylized skull 

Symmetrically aligned and proportionally matched, the kneebending 

staff-bearers are depicted facing the same direction 

within this broad column of design. More typically, such figures 

twist in opposite directions and rhythmically contract and 

expand in scale. 

The clarity of the figuration benefits from the black background, 

ample negative space and sharply defined line. The figures 

are twins in several respects, their mutuality underscored by 

visual resonances between them, and their complementarity 

indicated by key symbolic differences. 

Shamanistic allusions to ritual death and transfiguration are 

explicit, such as the rib cages starkly exposed in the skeletal 

chests. Versions of this motif are found in many portrayals of 

the Wari staff-bearer, although in most instances the element is 

so altered or schematic as to resemble an ornamental collar or 

the condor’s neck ruff. In this context, however, this archetypal 

symbol of death and rebirth "from the bones" not only fits 

the image of the trancing, contorted character, it also visibly 

echoes the emblem adorning one of the staffs (top). That 

distinctive botanical motif denotes the hallucinogenic powder 

vilca, obtained from Anadenanthera colubrina (detail A). The 

motif is also seen in the headdresses of both personae. 

The second staff-bearer (bottom) brandishes a staff topped 

with a San Pedro cactus finial (detail B). The juxtaposition of 

these two stylized motifs, which allude to the sacred plants of 

Andean ritualism, reinforces the notion that the staffs are not 

solely insignia of power or authority, as they are most often 

understood to be, but are indeed signifiers of transcendental 

states or dimensions. 

The shaft of this emblem is typically patterned with concentric 

squares or an undulating or scalloped line, which also decorate 

different parts of the staff-bearer’s attire. Although the same 

designs are replicated in numerous extant tunics, the elements 

are seemingly interchangeable and do not appear to be 

associated with any specific type of figure. 

Although Wari tunic iconography was greatly standardized, the 

weavers selected their details from a flexible store of images 

and symbols. Anomalous, idiosyncratic and singular choices 

abound. And while many motifs are ostensibly alike, the 

body of Wari imagery suggests that virtually imperceptible 

modifications of line or shape sparked different connotations. 

The potential for the range of meaning is exemplified, for 

example, by the pronged circular element set behind the rear 

foot (detail C). A related motif is commonly used to represent 

the magic cactus. But in this composition, it echoes the disc 

attached to the staff-bearer's elbow, which derives in turn from 

a trophy head suspended from the same spot on the paramount 

Cosmic Deity portrayed on Tiwanaku’s Sun Gateway. The 

element also resembles the skull motifs (some with severed 

arteries or hair tresses) seen in a distinctive type of Wari tunic 

(see cat. 164). The icon is rendered with various degrees of 

realism, but at its most stylized, is little more than an indented 

block with an enlarged cyclopean eye and pendant hair. Based 

on those comparisons, it is likely that this element represents a 

ritual head as well. 

Note: The panel preserves the abbreviated edge patterning and the tubular 

finish along the side seam.

54

150 


Transforming Staff-Bearer (one partial figure) 

Wari culture 

AD 600-900 

Camelid wool; interlocking tapestry weave, 

selvedged on two sides 

19" x 18½" 

Literature 

Moraga 2005b, plate 19. 

Wari weaving workshops presumably drew upon 

other textiles as iconographic models and sources of 

inspiration. Elite weavers and dyers were undoubtedly also 

exposed to the ceremonial garments, painted pottery and other 

objects of ritual art that were produced in great abundance for 

the dead, for the ancestors, for the priesthood, for tribute and 

for shamanic rituals or religious feasts. 

This might explain the multiple versions of the same imagery in 

Wari tunics. Certain designs must also have been identified with 

social rank, leadership role or religious office, and accordingly 

been distributed or sanctioned by the Wari state. 

This composition, for instance, represents a more fluid, lyrical 

and eccentric interpretation of the theme explored in cat. 149. 

Much of this is due to the color scheme, which orchestrates many 

shades of gold, green, yellow, tan, pink and red with exceptional 

harmony. Despite the close color values of most of these hues, 

the design components are juxtaposed without outlines. While 

the overall contours of each figure lack definition, paradoxically 

this has the effect of isolating each shape, particularly several 

imaginative configurations such as the intricate motif around 

the eye. It also dramatizes the branching black-and-white 

visionary symbol adorning the broad staff that represents vilca 

(Anadenanthera colubrina), and which occupies half the space. 

The Andean weaver’s extraordinary facility for visual puns 

and triggering multiple associations is also on display. For 

example, the staff-bearer's rib cage is skewed and altered so as 

to simultaneously supply nostrils for a schematic head (feline?) 

that comes into focus on the staff-bearer's back (detail below). 

The head sports a dangling ear ornament, similar to that in cat. 

149, while its bisected eye is obtained from a floating element 

that was summarily affixed to the edge of the staff-bearer’s 

upturned headdress. The deliberate inclusion of these details 

reveals the artist’s intention to embed this secondary but hidden 

image in the metamorphic figure. 

Feline head with pendant earing 

55

151 


Staff-Bearer with Feline Attributes 

Wari culture 

AD 600-1000 


24" x 11" 

The logic underpinning this variant of the staff-bearer in 

its feline incarnation is difficult to establish.The cryptic 

visual scheme may reflect either a local aesthetic innovation, 

or that the weaver-designer was at a remove in time from 

the original conception of the sacred icon, resulting in the 

inadvertent scrambling of design conventions. 

Like most Wari tunics, the imagery engages multiple 

perspectives depending on whether the textile is oriented 

vertically, as worn, or horizontally, as on the loom. Accordingly, 

the figures can be understood as either flying in a horizontal 

plane, or standing upright, facing opposite directions, with 

their heads twisting upward.This dynamic back-and-forth 

movement was presumably intentional.Yet the organization 

of the composition has several perplexing characteristics that 

confound the viewer’s perception of space and proportion. 

Taking up an equal ratio of space in each pattern block,the 

repeat figure and his emblems create parallel columns of design 

down the length of the panel.Although the width of the staffbearer’s 

body is unchanging, the elements on one side (a staff 

alternating with a headdress) are enlarged, while the same 

motifs on the opposite side are extremely compressed. The 

disproportionate scale and geometricization of the left-hand 

staff or headdress, compounded by the exaggerated size of the 

hand wrapped around the shaft, breaks this zone of design into 

a mosaic of color and shape. 

The placement and rendering 

of the outsized hand is similarly 

confusing (detail right). In 

every second figure in the 

sequence, the relationship 

between the thumb and fingers is correctly represented, 

matching the action of holding a staff.There is no logic to the 

placement of the hand in the alternating figure, however. In that 

register it appears in back of the staff-bearer, underneath the 

headdress, with the thumb pointing down. In this improbable 

location, therefore, the motif is seemingly employed as a design 

filler to create a pleasing symmetry—apparently a triumph of 

aesthetics over verisimilitude. 

56

57

58

152 

Section from a Tunic 

Staff-Bearer with Crocodilian Features 

Wari culture 

AD 600-900 


32" x 22" 

Literature 

Stone-Miller 1992a, 342, fig. 14. 

This superbly imaginative figure is an anomaly in the Wari 

repertory, although it shares attributes with depictions of 

the long-faced Sacrificer, one of the focal characters. The icon 

is portrayed in only a small number of known tunics, one of 

which served to illustrate a key article in Andean scholarship 

by Alan Sawyer, identifying the fundamental aesthetic trait of 

visual compression. 1 

Although the fantastical character is conceived as a dazzling 

abstraction of forms, a palpable sense of animal ferocity 

and unique personality is projected—an exceptional feat 

considering the extreme geometric stylization and the 

conceptual approach to figuration and color. 

The image connotes a metamorphosis on both iconographic 

and formalist levels. The abundant use of curving lines and 

rounded, wide shapes conveys an amorphous fluidity. Indeed, 

the upright figure is part human, displaying two human hands 

wrapped realistically around the staffs, and one bent leg. But 

its long-snouted animal head, shown twisting backward in the 

trancing position, as well as the long reptilian tail coiling out 

of the backbone, signify an alternate or transitional state. This 

dramatic spiraling motif, in particular, evokes the optical effects 

induced by the ingestion of San Pedro cactus. 

The coloration of the textile contributes to the perceptual 

challenge of decoding the image. The figure is only partially 

outlined, and there is little discernable difference between 

the columns of solid color, the background of the patterned 

bands and many of the small components of the design, since 

they were all produced in gradations of ochre, green-gold and 

yellow. The cohesiveness of the image is further compromised 

by the erratic rhythm of the turquoise, red and white elements 

that dominate the visual field. This kaleidoscopic image 

demands the active attention of the 

viewer to come into focus. Yet although 

the color manipulation disrupts the 

overall legibility, it also serves to highlight 

myriad small supplementary faces and 

figures (such as a creature embedded 

sideways in the torso that is formed from 

several adjacent body parts). 

The deity’s emblems are also treated in a novel fashion. Different 

faces—a profile human/bird head and an unusual half-sun 

face—adorn each staff. The one with the birdlike motif is 

tipped appropriately with feathers, while the other spears a 

fishlike motif. The motifs connote the different cosmological 

and ecological domains of water and sky. 

The origins of this bizarre figure are mysterious. It may owe 

some influence to the mythical caiman that had a major 

place in Chavín, Karwa and possibly Pukara cosmology 

and iconography (see cat. 141). Since this textile was likely 

found on the south coast, it is feasible that this ancient jungle 

archetype had endured in the local mythology. The iguanarelated 

figures that appear in north coast iconography may also 

have also contributed to the Wari vision. 

1 Alan Sawyer, "Tiahuanaco Textile Design," Textile Museum Journal 1, no. 2 (1963): 

27–38. 

59

153 


Jaguar Sacrificer with Captive 

Wari culture 

AD 600-900 

Cotton, camelid wool; interlocking tapestry weave 

14" x 10" 

This exquisite weaving records a sensational scene of death 

and domination: a Sacrificer with conspicuous jaguar 

markings squelches a human captive under his foot. Based on the 

discovery of severed heads in multiple Wari ceremonial contexts, 

this figure represents more than a supernatural character. 

The personification must surely allude to, or mythologize, a 

particular ritualist with gruesome obligations in Wari society. 

It has been determined, moreover, that the skulls of adult men 

and children entombed in several such Wari burials belonged 

to outsiders—probable evidence of the militancy of this first 

Andean empire. 

The figuration is rendered with greater naturalism and pictorial 

expressiveness than most Wari tunic compositions, which 

tend toward a formalized, angular abstraction. Fluid lines and 

sinuous elements, such as the multiheaded crown and wing, 

are accentuated with delicate white outlines. The coloration 

(especially a rare turquoise hue) and the way the subtly varied 

torso motifs appear to be “daubed" on the face, arms and legs 

are stylistically closer to painting. 

The theme is uncommon in the textile repertoire, but relates 

to iconography depicted on pottery from the Wari sites of 

Conchopata, in the Ayacucho Valley, and Pacheco, in the 

coastal Nazca region. The troves record the introduction and 

assimilation of Tiwanaku religious iconography by the Wari 

people. Visual myths painted on those ritual urns and vessels 

incorporate a supernatural Sacrificer into the Cosmic Deity’s 

entourage. This reimagined character is installed at the Staff 

Deity’s side, in the flanking position usually accorded the staffbearing 

attendants. 1 A sacrificial victim (or its head) is bound 

upside-down to his staff—a gory message that is conveyed with 

particular vividness here, thanks to the tension imparted by the 

arched foot. 

The anthropomorphic character sports a fanged mouth and 

jaguar spots, and is loaded with the customary mythic signifiers. 

But the profile face silhouetted underneath the huge jaguar 

mask implies a prior human incarnation. When the image 

is rotated, moreover, the shape and motifs of the Sacrificer’s 

lower torso and limbs re-form into the image of a leaping 

or pouncing carnivore with a whiskered, devouring mouth, 

dragging its human prey away (detail at left). The layered 

figures (jaguar-shaman, person, animal) infer an abbreviated 

mythic narrative, recounted through imagery alone. 

1 Anita Cook, “The Coming of the Staff Deity,” in Wari. Lords of the Ancient Andes, 

ed. Susan E. Bergh (2012): 105-109. 

60

61

154 


Profile Head and Fret Design 

Wari culture 

AD 600-1000 


16½" x 21" 

The most widely employed pattern scheme for Wari tunics 

is built upon a rectangle or square that juxtaposes a stylized 

profile face with a stepped spiral or fret. The repeating pattern 

blocks are generally aligned in vertical bands interspersed with 

broad solid color stripes, so that a curving white line dividing 

the two motifs creates undulating columns down the face of the 

tunic. Alternative arrangements, reflected in this vibrant textile, 

include densely spaced overall layouts and architectonic formats 

replicating the structure of the Sun Gateway at Tiwanaku, with 

its heavy carved lintel, supporting pillars and center opening. 

The great number of extant textiles in this style, as well as 

portrayals in painted pottery of Wari officials and warriors 

wearing similar shirts, suggest that the design was linked with 

a particular rank or role in the Wari state and its religious 

or military hierarchy. Tunics featuring this motif are not of 

exceptional quality or fineness, however, which again probably 

reflects their more common usage or status. 1 

The tunics’ wide availability records the imposition of Wari 

control or influence over a vast region. Even if they were made 

for distribution across the empire, it is feasible that the garments 

were produced by weaving workshops in many different areas. 

Further investigation of the stylistic and technical divergences 

reflected in this body of material may potentially uncover 

commonalities in production or origin, or even identify the 

hands and ideas of individual weavers. 

Although they were standardized (or perhaps because 

they were standardized) the compositions provided ample 

opportunity for the resourceful Wari weaver to capitalize on 

visual unpredictability through the subtle manipulation of 

color, shape and detail. Such eccentricities and variations are 

a defining, and much-admired, attribute of the Wari textile 

aesthetic. This characteristic is expressed here, for example, in 

the erratically located, minute tonal differences between the 

blue and green elements. The compression/expansion dynamic 

is similarly active. 

While the spiral/fret motif is remarkably consistent across the 

tradition, there are telling differences in the renderings of the 

stylized faces. This variant displays a long, thick eye mark and a 

human mouth; others interpretations have Z-shaped fangs, or 

may be entirely devoid of fine detail. 

The significance of the symbol, however, is more ambiguous. 

It seems plausible that the conjunction of step (i.e., mountain 

or earth) and spiral (i.e., water or ocean) was a cosmogram 

representing the world or the sacred landscape. Similarly the 

abbreviated sign might derive from related iconography on the 

Sun Gateway. The coiling element certainly evokes an animal 

tail; and indeed, the connection between the puma's tail and 

flowing water is firmly embedded in highland myth, cult and 

language. 

1 Susan E. Bergh, “Tapestry-Woven Tunics," in Wari. Lords of the Ancient Andes, ed. 

Susan E. Bergh (2012): 163. 

62

155 


Profile Head and Fret Design 

Wari culture 

AD 600-900 


34½" x 22" 

An innovative and elegant treatment of the most common 

Wari design theme sets the profile-head/spiral-fret motifs 

(detail A) within a black framework that accentuates the 

modular abstraction, the permutations of color and shape, and 

the progression towards greatest pattern compression at the 

outer edges of the composition (i.e., the sides of the tunic). 

The square is paired with a more geometric pattern that deftly 

illustrates the evolution from figuration to abstraction (details B, 

C). The latter is subdivided into rectangles tipped with stylized 

heads sporting U-shaped beaks or noses (detail B). This angular 

element itself shrinks and magnifies in size, and in random 

locations displaces the head entirely (detail C). 

Tapering black and brown lines move diagonally within the 

squares to define a mosaic of irregular shapes. Black, white, ochre 

and red horizontal bars of various widths, offset by semicircles 

and U shapes of different scales, generate visual rhythm. 

The color scheme, which unfolds in diagonal opposition, is 

nevertheless predictable (despite subtle color substitutions and 

degrees of difference even within it). 

The dominant black grid also makes explicit the pattern 

contraction that occurs toward the outermost selvedge of the 

rectangular panel. This feature has been described as a kind of 

"mythic geometry" that captures the viewpoint of the weaver 

seated at the loom, gazing across the horizontal plane of the 

textile toward an imaginary vanishing point. Accordingly, the 

images of divine or supernatural beings that are contained in 

this woven space diminish in size the further they are from 

the weaver’s reach, as if they were receding toward the infinite 

horizon where the mythical universe began. 1 This interpretation 

may not be totally applicable to the motifs employed here, 

which are symbols rather than figures, but they do preserve the 

conceptual model behind this Wari design precept. Of course, 

the effect was obscured when the tunics were worn, with the 

patterning oriented vertically on the body and the narrow 

bands of design hidden by the drape and folds of the textile 

over the wearer’s shoulders. 

1 William Conklin, "The Mythic Geometry of the Ancient Southern Sierra," in 

The Junius B. Bird Textile Conference 1984, ed. Ann Pollard Rowe (1986). Related 

textiles are published in Samuel K. Lothrop, Pre-Columbian Art.The Robert Woods Bliss 

Collection (1957): plate 147, and Susan E. Bergh, ed., Wari. Lords of the Ancient Andes 

(2012): fig. 149. 

A B C 

64

65

The graphics of this motif from a Wari tunic are deceptively 

simple. In the originally intact tunic, the individual square 

was multiplied four times, mirrored and inverted across its 

vertical and horizontal axes, to produce a quadripartite pattern 

block. The configuration of angular and circular elements lends 

a dynamic shape to the negative space, woven in light pink. 

The design abridges the fundamental components of the Wari- 

Tiwanaku religious icon—the paramount deity arrayed on a 

temple/mountain and surrounded by winged attendants—into 

a complex pictogram that can be read on many levels. 

The angular human head and the three-fingered element suggest 

abbreviated versions of the staff-bearer and the emblematic 

staff—although, in fact, this enigmatic symbol may compound 

various references, including a finger or hand gesture, feathers, 

flames and San Pedro cactus. 

156 


Interconnected Heads 

Wari culture 

AD 600-900 


4½" x 4" 

As a reconstruction of the 

original layout reveals, when 

doubled, the upside-down, 

bisected face adjoining the 

pointed top of the human 

head forms a whole, with 

its mouth spanning the two 

squares (detail at right). In 

conjunction with the adjacent condor head, the stepped outline 

demarcating the creature’s ear also evokes the meandering band 

studded with bird motifs that runs along the base of the Sun 

Gateway frieze. 

The weaver was not done with generating faces, 

however: yet another skull-like half-face with a 

serrated jawbone is created out of the condor’s 

split eye and neck ruff (detail at right). 

66

157 


Interlocking Reptilian Figure 

Tiwanaku-related culture? 

AD 600-900 


15" x 9" 

A 

striking contrast of hue and shade enhances the brilliant 

interplay of inversion, reflection and opposition in this 

narrow pattern band. There are three tonalities of indigo, 

ranging from dark and light blue to a distinctive turquoise that 

suggests the textile was produced within Tiwanaku’s sphere of 

influence. The interlocking geometric design is reminiscent of 

iconography explored by pre-Columbian cultures in northern 

Chile as well as southern Peru. 

A schematic anthropomorphic figure is symmetrically mirrored 

across the color divide, top to bottom and side to side. The 

bisected head is set upon a lizard-like body composed of spirals, 

hooks and serrated diagonals. These graphic elements possibly 

derive from the classic face/fret combination (see cat. 154), and 

may be symbolically associated with water and mountains. 

67

68

158 


Condor Staff-Bearer 

Tiwanaku culture? 

AD 600-900 


18" x 19" 

One of the major aesthetic distinctions between Wari and 

Tiwanaku tapestry tunics is that the Tiwanaku-related 

traditions did not usually adhere to visual conventions for 

expanding and contracting the figuration within the multiple 

bands of design. 

Here, the narrow width of the solid color bands in proportion 

to the patterning, as well as the color range, indicates that this 

fragmentary section of a finely woven tunic might belong to 

the Tiwanaku realm. The composition exhibits a degree of 

abstraction that is rare in Tiwanaku textile art, however, and 

also engages the characteristic Wari effect of compression 

and expansion (most visibly in the side columns and at the 

embroidered side seam). 

The head of a condor, eagle or other raptor is embedded 

within an abstract matrix consisting of recurring motifs from 

the Wari repertoire (detail at right). The bird’s head, framed 

with a U-shaped yoke composed of stylized faces, is packed 

between the wing feathers and staff finial, while the body is so 

compressed as to be vestigial. 

Because the textile is so fragmentary, it is difficult to discern 

whether there is an internal consistency to the order in which 

the distortion occurs. But in other areas of the design, the 

head is miniaturized while the torso and other motifs (like the 

back wing feathers) are magnified. The expansion of the motif 

towards the selvedge is atypical, but yields ample room for the 

expression of maximum geometric abstraction. 

Feather/Wing 

Corona with faces 

Eagle/Condor head 

Corona 

Top of staff 

69

159 

Fragments from a Tunic (with modern rearrangement) 

Wari culture 

Circa AD 1000 

Camelid and cotton fiber; interlocking tapestry weave 

18½" x 20" 

The intricate conglomeration of Wari motifs packed into the exceptionally 

wide columns of this tunic has apparently lost the iconographic thread that 

would fuse the geometric shapes into a coherent figure. 

Only one extremely compressed, genuflecting staff-bearer is discernable within 

the visual chaos (detail at right). Yet myriad forms drawn from the Wari symbolic 

inventory are recognizable, including bird talons, claws, fanged mouths, bisected 

"supernatural" eyes, profile faces, bird and feline heads, parts of staffs, panpipes 

and the ubiquitous three-pronged element that may allude to feathers, paws, 

hands or the San Pedro cactus. 

Presumably this improvisational variety was the point. It is difficult to say whether 

this dazzling level of abstraction, in which the staff-bearer icon is shattered into 

parts, reflects a distance of time or space from the original source of the imagery. 

Some scholars have postulated that the very impenetrability of certain designs 

only served to enhanced the mystery of their otherworldly content. Others have 

observed that for all their "modernity," such compositions are usually executed 

in a lesser grade of tapestry cloth, requiring smaller quantities of camelid hair and 

cotton, and thus being of lower status. 1 

Yet there is a genius to the complexity of pattern and dynamic application of 

vibrant color in this textile that asserts mastery and originality, rather than lack 

of familiarity with the visual and symbolic canons. 

1 Susan E. Bergh, “Tapestry-woven Tunics,” in Wari. Lords of the Ancient Andes ed. Susan E. Bergh (2012): 163. 

Reconstructed of six separate pieces 

70

160 


Abstracted Feline 

Wari-related style (Chachapoyas?) 

Circa AD 1000 


35" x 21" 

At the periphery of the Wari Empire, especially during the period of its decline, the 

standardized, widespread repertory of supernatural icons was seemingly reproduced 

with less understanding of both the artistic conventions and the sacred iconography. 

This tapestry tunic from an unidentified tradition (Chachapoyas? Nasca?) seems to 

be more concerned with resembling a typical Wari creation than with fulfilling the 

aesthetic criteria and canons of the official ideology and imagery promulgated by that 

culture. That motivation nevertheless communicates the extraordinary prestige of the 

imperial-style weavings, and is reflected in the technical refinement and artful color 

dyeing. 

The eccentric translation of the staff-bearer in its feline aspect betrays the weaver’s (or 

society's) ignorance of the standard icon. The figure has reverted to a surreal version of 

the jaguar form, although it is debatable whether the flamboyant patterning is garbled 

or rusticated, or whether the artist was simply confident that the mythological reference 

would be understood. 

72

161 


Warriors? 

Wari culture, probably South Coast (Ica?) 

AD 600-900 


5" x 8" 

Recent scholarship suggests that the male personages portrayed in large Wari effigy 

jars may have represented specific individuals (or more generally, particular 

ethnic or social groups) within the larger Wari world. Accordingly, such figures should 

be identifiable by markers of personal style, such as distinctive tattoos, body paint, 

clothing and symbolic accessories. 

Although this long-haired, turbaned individual is less elaborately costumed than many 

such characters, his features undoubtedly place him among the company of real people, 

rather than mythical ones. 

Indeed, the figure's sentry-like posture and weapon (spear thrower?), suggest a guard 

or warrior—not an unlikely role given the militaristic nature of Wari expansionism. 

And while his red-and-yellow checkerboard shirt is similar to a type of gauzy Nasca- 

Wari tunic woven in the discontinuous warp-and-weft technique, it is interesting how 

the design also anticipates the checkerboard tunics worn by Inka battalions several 

centuries later. 

One has to wonder exactly who wore this tunic within Wari hierarchy. A military 

leader, whose troops were represented in the design? A foreigner with the power of 

the highland empire metaphorically massed behind him? Or, self-referentially, the very 

person who occupied the role itself? 

75

162 


Pan Flute–Playing Sacrificer 

Wari culture, probably South Coast 

AD 600-900 


10½" x 9½" 

In the ancient Andes, the haunting sound of the pan flute was 

the sound of ritual death, the afterlife and the ancestral realm. 

The reed instrument was also associated with warfare and the 

rainy season, contributing sonic dimension to sacrificial activities 

focused on fertilizing the earth with blood or unleashing the 

water controlled by cosmic forces. 

Musicians are pictured playing the same sorts of instruments 

(pipes, trumpets, drums, rattles) that have been found in 

ceremonial and burial sites. Shamanic characters also play 

panpipes in Nasca imagery, as do skeletal personages represented 

in Moche pottery vessels. 

Unlike those spectral beings, this unique Wari character (who 

is portrayed in only a few known tapestry tunics) is fully 

garbed and furnished with the standard supernatural emblems, 

including a headdress and (extremely contracted) staff. 

As if to emphasize the realistic nature of the role, however, 

his features and demeanor are definitely those of a human 

being. The design of his tunic emulates Nasca-Wari styles of 

discontinuous warp-and-weft textiles ("patchwork") found on 

the south coast. An identical garment is worn by the panpipe 

player portrayed in a closely related tunic in the Textile Museum 

collection. Possibly the two tunics were produced by the same 

workshop, or allude to a style of dress specifically associated 

with the musician’s role. 

This figure has been interpreted as a version of the Wari 

Sacrificer. 1 In fact, such activities are intimated by the 

disembodied head juxtaposed with the headdress of another 

figure from the pattern sequence below (the only detail to 

survive in this fragment). A stepped element decorated with 

a condor head next to his feet also places the musician on a 

ceremonial dais or within sacred space. (The motif may derive 

from the platform depicted on the Sun Portal.) 

But the character’s most unusual attribute is a wavy glyph 

emerging from his mouth, which, in combination with the 

panpipe, surely indicates a vibrational sound, such as song or 

speech. 

Given the iconographic and aesthetic consistency of the imperial 

Wari style, which is centered on a core group of mythical icons, 

this image is outstanding as well as unique. 

1 Susan E. Bergh, ed., Wari. Lords of the Ancient Andes (2012): 168-167, figs. 157, 158. 

76

163 


Ritual Sacrificer with Captive 

Wari culture, South Coast? 

AD 600-1000 

Cotton, camelid wool; tapestry weave 

9¼" x 11" 

Pictorial compositions involving several figures, and simultaneously capable of 

imparting a sense of action or the passage of time, are always rare in the static 

dimension of Andean textile design. This compelling scene has both qualities, and despite 

the slightly "rustic" rendering, is equally valuable for fleshing out details of the Sacrificer 

narrative that was an important aspect of Wari religious and state mythology. 

The design records an event of ritual sacrifice enacted by a demonic decapitator wielding 

a double ax. While it is not obvious whether this gruesome ritualist is supernatural or a 

mythicized characterization of a real individual, his victim (or victims) are unequivocally 

human. 

The difference between the clothing and locations of two prone figures implies a 

sequence of events rather than multiple participants. One male figure, sprawling on the 

ground as if recently killed, is still dressed in a white breechcloth and clutches a club 

or weapon, although his head has been severed at the neck. A second, naked corpse is 

shown either laid out within a tomb, or shoved upside-down into a shaft or ceremonial 

structure. 

It is feasible that the two figures portray the same warrior at different stages in the ritual 

or battle, i.e., being killed, stripped of his gear, and subsequently transformed into a 

trophy head, like the one dangling from the Sacrificer’s elbow. 

79

164 


Skull 

Wari culture 

AD 600-900 


16¼" x 13½" 

Stripped of both flesh and humanity, the macabre beauty of the human skull, turned 

into a visceral power object, starkly embodies the drive behind Wari militarism and 

ritualism. 

Cachements of skulls have been recovered from Wari ceremonial sites both at the coast 

and in the sierra. Unlike in the earlier Nasca trophy-head cult, however, the hair and 

skin of decapitated individuals were not conserved. The different treatment possibly 

reflects diverse cultural practices, or the distinct environmental conditions that shaped 

life and death in the highlands. (The conditions of preservation were entirely different 

in the desert sands.) 

The small, known body of Wari tunics featuring this iconography does so with varying 

degrees of stylization. The bold motifs are always set against a red and yellow "tuning 

fork" pattern, whose tines rhythmically shrink and expand across the field. This 

background may be specific to the Sacrificer theme, as suggested by its similarity to the 

striped field seen in cat. 163. 

The elements of the skull are minimally rendered with different polygonal shapes, 

each modified to describe a unique feature such as the eye socket, ear or jawbone. 

Appendages hanging below the head possibly describe the severed veins or trachea. 

81

165 

Fragment of a Headband (left) 

Profile Head 

Wari culture 

AD 600-900 


5½" x 3" 

166 

Fragment from a Headband (opposite) 

Alternating Heads 

Wari culture 

AD 600-900 


12" x 2½" 

Literature 

Lapiner 1976, plates 541, 557. 

82

Ambiguity is inherent to representations of the human head 

in Andean iconography. Although the motif alludes most 

frequently to heads decapitated in ritual sacrifice or captured 

in battle, not all trophy heads symbolize enemies or victims. 

It is thought that certain votive heads may have been linked 

with ancestral cults, kept and revered as sacred relics by multiple 

generations. However, both practices reflect the Andean belief 

that human essence and power reside in the head and imbue its 

bony skull after death. 

There are many contexts in which isolated or disembodied 

faces are featured in textile design. Certain figures are likely 

to represent particular types of people—warriors, priests and 

paramount lords, for example, or diverse regional or ethnic 

groups. An individual’s social status, role and origin were 

likely also conveyed through specific motifs, facial markings, 

headwear and other insignia. 

The schematic face, alternating direction in a fragmentary 

headband (cat. 165), is distinguished by ear spools and a fourcorner-style 

hat, patterned with diamonds and possibly topped 

with feathers. A swathe of color wraps across his cheeks and 

mouth, zigzagging along the jawline. All these elements point 

to a high rank in the community, and may indeed specify an 

ethnic affiliation within the larger Wari state. 

The interplay of spiraling, circular and angled lines, and 

a symmetrical application of vibrant color, create a visually 

balanced design. 

A very similar personage appears in a fragment from another 

headband (cat.166). He, too, has paint or tattooing applied to 

the lower part of the face, as well as subtle striping. Although 

Wari face decoration tends to be abstract, these markings recall 

a monkey's muzzle. The head is juxtaposed with a diamond 

block pattern that foreshadows the geometric tokapu signs used 

in elite Inka weavings. 

83

84

167 

Headband (partial) 

Human Sacrifice or Offering 

Wari-related culture (Chachapoyas? South Coast?) 

AD 600-1000 


10½" x 2½" 

An extremely unusual depiction of a dismembered body (possibly laid on a shroud 

or litter) supplies a focus for this headband (which, though incomplete, preserves a 

checkerboard tab at one end). The eccentric, cursive style of drawing is also distinctive. 

A large green head is juxtaposed with a man’s shirt and breechcloth, which are placed 

in the appropriate spots (if there were an actual body). Motifs suggesting the severed 

hands and feet of the victim occupy each corner. The removal of a warrior’s clothes 

prior to mutilating or sacrificing him was a common theme in antecedent Nasca and 

Moche iconography. 

An alternative reading of this pattern block yields the outline and head of a crouching 

animal (compare with cat. 176, detail below). This second, more cryptic, glyphlike motif 

fits the sacrificial theme by combining animal elements (feline head, tail) within a 

spiraling design (tail?) that terminates in a trophy head. 

85

168 

Headband (partial) 

Human Sacrifice or Offering 

Wari-related culture (Chachapoyas? South Coast?) 

AD 600-1000 


19" x 1½" 

86

Like an ancient prototype for the "skull and crossbones" of Western lore, the curious design 

woven into this headband juxtaposes two motifs: a florescent skull and a femur bone inlaid 

with a human face. 

It is likely that both the vivid red used for the background and the pink highlights in the faces 

and other small details were obtained from the cochineal insect, which had become the principal 

means for dyeing camelid wool during the Nasca period. 1 

Bones and blood are the seeds of life and regeneration in Andean thought, which makes this 

imagery and hue suited to the powerful leader or warrior who may have worn it in life or battle 

(or equally, for his honored corpse). 

Skulls and bones were certainly regarded as war emblems as well in the Andes, as an Inka song 

suggests: "We will drink from our enemy's skull. We will make necklaces from his teeth. We will 

play a flute on his bones and drum from his skin." Wari skull-shaped beakers, discovered at the 

ceremonial center of Pachacamac, reveal this to have been an enduring and widespread theme. 

1 Elena Phipps, "Cochineal Red: The Art History of a Color," The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (Winter 2010). 

87

169 

Sash or Headband 

Decapitator with Plant Motif 

Wari style, North-Central Coast (Huarmey Valley) 

Circa AD 800-1000 


3½" x 34½" 

88

Adjusting to the narrow width and scale of the band, only the elongated face of the Sacrificer 

or Decapitator and upper portion of his "wing" are shown. 

Significantly, the head is paired with a distinctive plant laden with fruits; a similar globular element 

appears on his headdress. The closest precedent for this motif is the pendulous branching form 

of the so-called Ulluchu tree that is depicted in Moche iconography (detail at right). 1 Although 

this plant has not yet been botanically identified, Moche scholars have connected the fruit to 

sacrificial rites. Its significance appears to lie in its use as a type of anticoagulant to keep the ritual 

blood flowing. 

Notably, the symbol is also frequently represented on belts worn by Moche warriors and 

in a double-Ulluchu headdress displayed by supernatural figures. Specialists in Wari art have 

speculated, moreover, that the Sacrificer associated with Staff Deity iconography may reflect 

Moche influence. 2 Indeed, the way in which this icon is drawn (especially the stepped diagonal 

line) is reminiscent of a monstrous visage that appears in late Moche-Huarmey styles (see cats. 

198, 200). 

1 Christopher Donnan and Donna McClelland, Moche Fineline Painting: Its Evolution and Its Artists (1999): 156-157. 

2 Anita Cook, “The Coming of the Staff Deity” in Wari, Lords of the Ancient Andes, ed. Susan E. Bergh (2012): 118. 

89

170 

Corner from a Mantle 

Profile Heads 

Coastal Wari culture 

Circa AD 800-1000 

Cotton, camelid wool; supplementary 

weft on plain weave 

10" x 16" 

Provenance 

Lou Slavitz Collection. 

Literature 

Frame 1990, 5, fig. 2. 

Bergh 2013, figs. 249a, 249b. 

Originally this panel comprised one of four decorative 

corners to a mantle or carrying cloth. Based on comparison 

with intact examples of the style, it can be assumed that two of 

these stepped quadrants, applied to the same side of the plainwoven 

cotton square, contained figurative motifs organized in 

a multicolored checkerboard. The corners on the opposite side 

would have been embellished with a two-color abstract design, 

while the plain woven center would have been left empty. 

Although the compositional field was visually balanced and 

symmetrical in format, the internal asymmetry of the matching 

pattern blocks, the change in color from side to side and 

the contrast between abstraction and figuration were clearly 

meaningful. We can speculate that the weaving was folded so 

that only the outer corners were visible, but probably Andean 

notions of dualism and complementarity strongly influenced 

the design. 

Two versions of a profile head with an L-shaped teardrop 

alternate in diagonally arranged color blocks. The tear track 

switches direction from left to right, representing a very 

subtle spin on the dominant visual convention employed in 

Wari tunics. The widths of the heads are also varied, similarly 

replicating the compression/expansion effect fundamental to 

the proportions of Wari design. 

Each head supports a distinct headdress. One version suggests 

drooping feathers springing from a serpentine braid or 

headband. The other, a U-shaped crown adorned with bird 

and cactus motifs, emulates the standard Wari insignia. This 

bizarre head also has two armlike projections front and back, 

which convert it into a truncated figure whose stance evokes 

either the staff-bearing or the veneration pose. This motif may 

be a shorthand depiction of the Staff Deity. 

90

91

171 

Four-Cornered Hat 

Running Staff-Bearer 

Wari culture, South Coast 

AD 600-1000 

Cotton, camelid wool; looping (larks-head knotting) 

with supplementary pile, pieced construction 

5½" x 4" 

Literature 

Bergh 2013, fig. 11. 

With its fleecy surface and long tufted "ears," the fourcornered 

Wari hat undoubtedly alludes to the llamas 

and alpacas that were crucial to Andean societies and intrinsic 

to the development of their woven art. The camelid supplied 

wool, hide, food, fats, as well as mobility, to coastal and highland 

peoples alike. 

Although the Wari lords wore a variety of headgear, this 

singular style of head adornment is both the most conceptually 

complex and the most imaginative in terms of execution. Large 

pottery effigies portray Wari dignitaries, warriors and sacrificers 

bedecked in these square hats, which must have matched those 

individuals' particular social positions or functions within the 

imperial structure. 

As soft, sculptural expressions of "form, texture, iconography 

and geometry," 1 the knotted pile hats are three-dimensional 

masterpieces of ancient fiber art. 

Generally, geometric or figural patterning (sometimes both) 

unfolds symmetrically over all four sides of the hat, repeated 

in four different spatial planes and directions. Many layouts 

are characterized by bold concentric or quartered diamond 

motifs, checkerboards, and other interpretations of the square 

or diagonal patterned grid. In contrast, this exemplary piece, 

which is lustrous with velvety pile and crisp color, highlights 

a single, large-scale figure—an angular interpretation of the 

mythical staff-bearer. 

The figure is reduced to a graphic abstraction, however, with 

only an oblong block delineating a truncated head and torso. 

Yet dynamic details such as the uplifted foot, the free hand 

extending behind his back and the bird-tipped hair or headdress 

streaming backward at a slight tilt convey motion and speed, as 

if the character were running rather than kneeling in the usual 

static supplicant or attendant mode. 

The motif is repeated in all four frames, rendered in a twocolor 

scheme (blue/yellow or red/green) that is paired on 

opposite sides. As is typical of Wari styles, the monochromatic 

top is subtly textured with a ribbed design, generated with a 

single-element looping technique, which subdivides the square 

on its diagonal axes. 

1 Mary Frame, Andean Four-Cornered Hats: Ancient Volumes (1990): 6. 

92

93

172 

Shin Guard 

Wari culture 

AD 600-1000 

Camelid wool, fur, reed; wrapping 

12½" x 5½" 

Literature 

Bergh 2013, fig. 161. 

Battle garb and weapons unearthed from numerous tombs provide insight into the 

nature of pre-Columbian warfare. 

Warriors, ritualists and supernatural figures are frequently portrayed with trophy-head 

motifs placed all over their bodies (especially at the vulnerable joints of the ankle, 

knee, wrist and elbow). But this embellishment was apparently not only confined 

to iconography. Certain items of Wari armor indicate that the same symbolism was 

utilized by their real-life counterparts, some of whom must have worn shin guards like 

this singular example, which displays a stylized face. 

Wari helmets and shin guards were constructed in a similar fashion, out of reeds or slats 

wrapped with multicolored yarn to create different motifs. The complete battle outfit 

presumably included a matching shield. 

While the most typical design consists of concentric stepped diamonds, not all shin 

guards feature three such elements. Here, the motifs clearly evoke eyes and a mouth. 

The bisected eye is a common indicator of supernatural status or death—so we can 

assume that this ghostly face was devised to provide spiritual protection for the wearer, 

as well as to intimidate prospective enemies. 

94

95

PROVINCIAL WARI 

WARI-RELATED STYLES

Provincial Wari and 

Wari-Related Cultures 

In Andean archaeology, the Middle Horizon refers to an epoch dating from about 

AD 400 to 1000, during which much of ancient Peru came under the military, 

economic, cultural and artistic domination of the highland Wari people. This vast state, 

unified by a network of roads and large-scale administrative centers that anticipated 

the infrastructure of the later Inka Empire, is especially associated with tapestry-woven 

tunics and other high-status textiles displaying iconography related to the religious cult 

of the Staff Deity and his supernatural associates. 

Yet there are also many Wari-related textiles that survive from this period that do not 

conform to the strictures of this hierarchical and elite body of material. In these cases 

provincial or regional artists and craftsmen drew upon their own aesthetic traditions 

for weaving and design techniques, and upon local mythologies for iconographic 

themes, in order to rework and adapt the Wari canon, particularly the staff-bearing 

and Sacrificer figures. The influence of antecedent or overlapping cultures such as 

Moche, Lambayeque, Pacatnamu, Pachacamac and Nasca (to name only some of the 

most distinctive) surfaces in the imagery, as well as in the compositional layouts, color 

combinations, fabric structures and design formats. Most such textiles represent coastal 

traditions; thus they also feature the local fauna and flora, as well as seabirds and ocean 

life. 

Obviously, virtually all extant Wari and Middle Horizon textiles—even the imperial 

styles—were unearthed from coastal cemeteries and ceremonial complexes because 

those sites (apart from the north coast) supplied optimal conditions for their 

conservation. The imperial and provincial traditions of production were certainly 

concurrent, serving diverse members of society, as well as fulfilling a wide range 

of sumptuary, ritual, funerary and official needs. Without provenience information, 

however, it is usually difficult to establish where exactly such textiles were woven, used 

or ultimately preserved. 

Accordingly, the textiles in this catalogue are primarily grouped together on the basis of 

related iconography or other similarities. General cultural attribution is suggested here 

based on the literature and other sources, but is provisional and open to amendment. 

99

173 

Portion of a Tunic 

Staff Deity 

Wari-influenced style (Chachapoyas?) 

Circa AD 1000 

Cotton, camelid wool; tapestry weave, 

tubular edging, selvedged on one side 

10½" x 15½" 

The enduring status of the mythic personage known as 

the Staff Deity across Andean space and time is reflected 

in this post-Wari-style tunic, possibly from the eastern cloud 

forest region of Chachapoyas. From Chavín to Tiwanaku, this 

protean divinity (an ancestral or shamanic spirit embodied 

in human form?) is consistently presented in a power stance 

flanked with two staffs. The visualization of the icon does 

evolve over time, however, and its attributes are often culturally 

specific. 

In this case, the black background is as unusual as the 

composition of the tunic, which substitutes widely spaced 

pattern blocks featuring a simplified figure for the conventional 

Wari banded format. 

Although abstraction of the primary icon is characteristic of 

late Wari art, this image moves in the opposite stylistic direction. 

Esoteric content and visual complexity are replaced by a 

straightforward, unsubtle depiction. The implication of this is 

ambiguous. Either the context in which the textile was woven 

did not attain the level of artistic sophistication evident in 

other Wari centers, or weaving traditions had declined by this 

period. It is also possible that the interpretation reflects local 

styles of representation adapting to a new, foreign leadership, 

religious message and iconography. 

The personage sports the large ear spools associated with 

Andean nobility, as well as patterned headgear and a tunic 

adorned with bird medallions. This attire likely signaled ethnic 

identity or place of origin. 

The rendering is lively and idiosyncratic, making the most of 

a bright white outline to articulate form and detail, such as 

long fingernails, teeth, a concave mouth and spiraling ears. The 

color palette is equally distinctive, incorporating the intense 

ochre or mustard yellow that is conspicuous in Chachapoyasstyle 

textiles. 

Certain ancient visual and symbolic conventions linger. The 

figure is slightly off-kilter to allow for the subtle (or attempted) 

effect of the contraction and expansion of the staff. Employing 

the most common visual trope for communicating shamanic 

notions of transfiguration or supernatural status, the heads are 

also inverted in one register of the design (but they keep their 

hats in place!). 

100

174 


Heads and Skull Motifs 

Late or post-Wari style (Chachapoyas?) 

Circa AD 800-1000 


20" x 27" 

The kaleidoscopic patterning on this tunic is extremely atypical, 

suggesting that it originates from an outpost of the Wari Empire 

(possibly the eastern tropical Chachapoyas region), where different 

stylistic conventions prevailed. The cryptic or scrambled imagery 

indicates that the textile dates to the very end of the timeline defined 

by Wari domination (the Middle Horizon), if not multiple decades later. 

The standard columnar layout, for example, is entirely subverted by a 

compositional density that leaves no room for the solid color bands 

that usually subdivide the visual plane. Nevertheless, the expansion/ 

contraction dynamic of the primary image, as well as the alternation 

between frontal and side views, are kept. 

Skulls and profile heads (details at left), fitted together in an intricate 

mosaic, combine into larger figures that evoke animal forms. Spirals, 

figure eights, hooks and wavy lines (tails? ears?) inject curvilinearity into 

a composition dominated by groups of squared circles and hexagons 

(eyes, mouths) outlined in white on a red ground. 

102

HUARI

175 

Fragment 

Snarling Face with Fangs and Egg Tooth 

Unidentified regional culture (Chachapoyas?) 

Circa AD 1100-1400 (radiocarbon dating by Rafter 

Laboratory, New Zealand) 

Cotton; tapestry weave 

5" x 13" 

The visceral shock and fear induced by the fang of the predator (feline, snake or 

caiman) was translated into a spiritually charged sign that had perennial meaning for 

Andean cultures. Its connotations—divinity, prestige, power—imbue this mesmerizing 

face with supernatural potency. 

This textile was woven 2000 years after images of imposing feline and caiman deities 

were enshrined in early Andean ceremonial centers—not only at Chavín de Huántar, 

but in many temples built along the coast. Yet this 12th- to 13th-century motif bears 

a striking, if inexplicable, visual relationship to that archaic iconography. It is certainly 

unlike either Wari or Inka traditions, which had some impact on the artistic styles of 

the isolated, northeastern Amazonian region of Chachapoyas, where the weaving was 

produced. 

The theme may have been deliberately revived by local artists, somehow inspired by 

their greater proximity to Chavín’s location in the eastern cordillera. Or it may be that 

the notion of this icon, derived from jungle fauna, had never really vanished from the 

cultural memory. 

The angular face is composed with trapezoidal and triangular elements, offset by 

circular earrings and jagged fangs. The conspicuous center tooth may allude to the 

raptor's beak; it could also represent the egg tooth that baby reptilians, such as caimans 

and snakes, use to break out of their shells. The canines are not realistic—clearly it was 

the total effect that mattered. 

A stepped, abstract motif, inset between the eyes, evokes a stylized human figure similar 

to those depicted in the stone friezes decorating Chachapoyas architecture. 

104

176 

Bands from a Tunic 

Crouching Felines/Human Face 


Circa AD 1100-1400 


5" x 18" 

The tense concentration of the crouching cat, ready to ambush its quarry, is vividly 

captured in this boxy image. The animal is foreshortened, with its haunches sloping 

up from behind its head and forelimbs, so that it appears to loom at close quarters over 

the viewer. This is a novel perspective on the epic confrontation between human and 

beast. 

Jaguar spots alternate with, or are substituted by, small motifs representing profile cats, 

reptilians(?) and, in one variation, an inverted human face. 

The omnipresent theme of feline/ritualist symbiosis or duality is reinforced by an 

alternative interpretation of the image, which reads the entire configuration as a human 

head with a rectilinear hairstyle or headdress. (This double meaning is supported by 

a textile found in the northeastern Chachapoyas region, at Laguna de los Condores, 

which attaches the same motif to a splayed human body). 1 The red, white and yellow 

color scheme is also characteristic of this little-known regional tradition. 

1 Warren Church and Adriana von Hagen, “Chachapoyas: Cultural Development at an Andean Cloud Forest Crossroads,” 

in Handbook of South American Archaeology ed. Helaine Silverman and William Isbell (2008): chapter 45, fig. 45.10.c. 

107

177 


Stylized Faces 


AD 1000? 


selvedged on one side with tubular edging 

4" x 11" 

Working with a minimal number of abstract shapes, the weaver generated rows 

of stylized human faces, whose eyes peep out underneath oversized skulls or 

helmets. The elongated, oblong form of the heads suggests a type of cranial deformation 

that was practiced by many Andean peoples. 

The chain of trophy or votive heads is bidirectional. When reversed, the zigzag or 

S-shaped motifs decorating the headdresses become mouths, lending individual 

expressions to each motif. 

108

178 


A Puffer or Porcupine Fish 

Wari culture (Huarmey Valley) 

AD 800-1000 


9" x 16" 

Ear of corn 

Despite its odd iconography, this textile is definitely in the Wari style, 

and preserves the modular breakdown of the image into discrete 

geometric shapes. Its unique theme, however, reflects a context of use or 

production near to the coast (the Huarmey Valley?), as well as myths or 

symbolism relevant to coastal societies. 

The rare image apparently represents a puffer or porcupine fish (tamborin)–– 

equatorial fishes that have the ability to inflate themselves into large taut 

spheres by ingesting water. This shapeshifting capacity must have had 

shamanic connotations. The fact that the spiny porcupine fish is also toxic, 

causing paralysis or even death when eaten, surely only enhanced the 

formidable powers of this creature in the minds of ancient Peruvians. 

Stalk, tassel and leaves 

Although this colorful rendition might seem bizarre or even comical to 

modern eyes, the artist demonstrates familiarity with the fish’s distinctive 

traits. The globular form of the tamborin is portrayed head-on, fanned by 

tiny pectoral fins. A dorsal tail or fin flutters realistically behind its head, 

while inflated spines project below the body. 

The face is framed by two enigmatic motifs (upside-down to the fish). One 

depicts a corn plant with the stylized cob nestled between its leaves (detail 

at left, above). The other element may describe a tapering fish torso and tail, 

but could equally represent the “male" part of the corn, with its silky tassel 

emerging at the top of the stalk (detail at left, below). Although the cob is 

the “female" organ of the plant, we cannot know if the ancient Peruvian 

farmers who cultivated this native crop understood the botany. The symbol 

becomes even more pertinent if the puffer’s back fin is simultaneously 

read as a symbol for San Pedro cactus. Fermented corn beer (chicha) was 

spiked with the hallucinogen to produce a potent intoxicant that was 

drunk during Wari rituals. 

110

179 


Floating Shrimp 

Wari culture (Central or South Coast?) 

AD 800-1000 


10½" x 9" 

Literature 

Anton 1984, fig. 75. 

All Wari tunics that survive today originate from coastal traditions that came under 

the highland state’s control, domination and artistic influence. Yet very few of these 

elite textiles incorporate marine imagery or other themes reflecting those societies’ 

dependence on the ocean. 

We know from ethnohistorical sources that the trade in dried, salted shrimp and crayfish 

was a cornerstone of the pre-Columbian economy. Depicted with hyperrealism in this 

panel, the shrimp acknowledge the bounty of the sea and the crustacean’s importance 

as food and commodity. Unusually, the rendering and size of each motif is quite 

distinct, although all have multiple swimmerets or legs and stalk-eyes. The way they are 

suspended in space also lends an especially naturalistic quality to the design, capturing 

the impression of shrimp swimming or floating in water. 

The lyrical composition exploits the contrast between the geometric structure and 

the animated forms and wavering tendrils. The textile also appears to be suffused with 

filtered light, thanks to the luminosity of the golden fibers and the striations that comb 

the large-scale stepped-diamond patterning. 

112

180 


Mythical Feline with Crustacean Attributes 

Wari-related style (Huarmey Valley?) 

AD 800-1000? 

Cotton, camelid wool; interlocking and 

slit tapestry weave 

9" x 11" 

This outstanding image is unique in the coastal Wari artistic canon. The figure—a 

sort of aquatic or marine feline—is electrifying in style and presence. The mythical 

animal bristles with actively moving tentacles and fluid scrolls; its mouth is agape in a 

vivid snarl; and its entire posture is packed with energy. 

The static, formalized, repetitive imagery typical of Huarmey-style textiles is replaced 

here with a monumental, curvilinear figure. The composition is more like a handdrawn 

painting or a sculptural vessel than a loom-woven image conforming to a 

rectilinear structure. Even the steep shape of the multistep architectonic form (a ritual 

pyramid or palace?) is softly hewn. 

The scene abounds with extraordinary details. The lively figure is represented threedimensionally—the 

weaver has indicated the underside of the belly and inserted two 

partially visible feet in the background to create the illusion of perspective or depth. 

The oversized eye contains the image of a smaller beast, as if reflected in its eyeball. 

Feet are represented as crawling crustaceans (lobsters? crayfish?). Bulbous pod or fruit 

motifs resembling peppers (but otherwise unidentified) dangle from the mouth and 

back of the head. 

This otherworldly conception speaks to a local coastal theme as well as of an unusually 

imaginative artist. 

114

181 

Fragment from a Provincial Tunic 

Staff-Bearer 

Wari-related style 

AD 800-1000? 

Cotton, camelid wool; supplementary weft 

11¾" x 16¼" 

A 

curvaceous form delineating the bent-knee posture of 

the Wari staff-bearer is the most prominent element in 

this visually elusive image. This may be because the motif, like 

the wing, is executed in a bright white that stands out sharply 

against the red background. It is likely that the figure was 

repeated in other color combinations elsewhere on the tunic. 

But in this zone of design at least, the color choice not only 

draws attention to the divinity’s essential traits, it contributes 

to the overall disjointedness of the figuration. 

Although several primary hues are employed, in addition to a 

thick black outline, the staff-bearer is perceptually indistinct. 

This lack of articulation or contrast nevertheless serves the 

sense of artistic improvisation, which is further reinforced 

by the variety of colors employed (such as several shades of 

green). 

Staff-bearer with puma-head foot 

The staff-bearer’s sinuous elongated, bent leg, which terminates 

in a puma head instead of the expected foot, is remarkably 

similar in conception to the spiraling tail of the crocodilian 

figure depicted in a Wari tapestry tunic seen in cat. 152. 

116

182 

Corner from a Mantle 

Entwined Figures and Snakes 

Wari-related style (Huarmey Valley? Chimú-Capac?) 

AD 800-1000 

Cotton, camelid wool; supplementary weft, selvedged on 

one side with tubular finish 

14½" x 20" 

Published 

Anton 1984, fig. 102. 

Literature 

de Lavalle 1984, 80-81. 

This free-form composition is easier to decipher if compared to the figure featured 

in cat. 181. Despite its acute stylization, that staff-bearer is still tethered to Wari 

artistic precepts for representing the icon. This aberrant interpretation clearly emerges 

out of the same late, provincial aesthetic, but has become even more idiosyncratic and 

reductive in form. 

Meandering lines and serpentine chains wind through the design, linking all components 

(faces, bodies, feet, hands) with little regard for the legibility of the original icon. The 

staff can barely be differentiated from the head and body. The acrobatically flexed 

figure harks back to the tumbling, falling and contorted shamans in Paracas art. 

The lyrical repetition of oval, circle and pod shapes in different scales and the rhythmic 

color progression are visually cohesive. The looping, elastic qualities of this design 

offer a striking contrast to the angular patterning of the outer border, which sets a 

whimsical, long-eared creature/manta ray motif within a geometric frieze that recalls 

decorative murals in central and north coast architecture. 

This fragment, which has the tubular-edge finish typically applied to tunics, may be 

associated with a large mantle. 

118

183 

Pair of Sleeves from a Tunic 

An Interlocking Bestiary 

Wari-related style (North-Central Coast?) 

AD 800-1000 

Cotton, camelid wool; weft patterning 

6" x 15" 

Provenance 

William Conklin Collection, sold by Sotheby's New York, May 1989. 

A 

perceptually challenging effect is achieved in the design of these sleeves through 

multiple superimposed figures, each one individuated by color, but lending parts 

of its own features or body to the adjacent creatures. 

The pictorial complexity and color vibrancy is mesmerizing. For example, an inverted 

fox or coati, executed in yellow, provides limbs and torso for a bear-like creature, 

woven in black and blue (top). Similarly, an inverted bird describes the belly of a green 

or yellow llama-like animal, which in turn interpenetrates another quadruped who is 

swallowing his tail (bottom). 

This layering of images may be the weaver's ingenious solution for crowding this 

menagerie into a small area. But the interconnectivity and interdependence of the 

figures appears to make a metaphorical point, perhaps pertaining to Andean notions 

about the circulation of energy in the universe. 

120

184 

Fragment from a Mantle or Hanging? 

Cryptic Jaguars 

Wari-related culture (North-Central Coast?) 

AD 800-1100 

Cotton; doublecloth 

35" x 35" 

The long, lean form of a prowling jaguar is obscured by 

a puzzle of lines and other motifs in three contiguous 

panels from a mantle or mural hanging. The black, red and 

white coloration is distinctive, and recalls the palette of many 

pottery traditions (particularly Recuay). The compression and 

expansion of the figure derives from Wari design conventions. 

It takes an effort of perception to pick out the outline of the 

animal within the overwhelmingly dense, multidirectional 

geometric patterns that consume the positive and negative 

space, both within and around the figure. The viewer’s eye 

is directed by a few signs that indicate the eyes and mouth 

of the feline. The dark and light rosettes of the jaguar’s pelt 

are similarly conveyed by interlocking serpentine chains that 

terminate in heads of all kinds (snakes, harpy eagles, skulls). 

Although the design is strongly horizontal, when turned 

vertically, the half-form of a squat anthropomorphic figure 

(split down the middle) can be discerned amid the intensive 

red and white patterning of the center panel. Its oversized 

head, wide mouth and concentric eyes are reminiscent of the 

Oculate Being icon that dominated Early Paracas iconography. 

122

123

185 

Double Panel 

Serpentine Creatures and "Moon Animal" 

Wari-related culture (North-Central Coast?) 

AD 800-1100 

Cotton, camelid wool; brocade, selvedged and finished on three sides 

26" x 13" 

Transparency and duality are explicit themes in these two 

panels, which appear to comprise half of a larger weaving, 

such as a tunic or small mantle. 

Duality is expressed not only through the juxtaposition of the 

principal motifs (snake and "moon animal," signifying different 

ecological and cosmological zones), but also by the duplication 

and double-headedness of the horned, hooked snakes. It also 

operates on the level of color and design. 

The effect is exploited most dramatically in the color reversal 

of the mirror-image serpents (top). The composition is 

organized into unequal halves. On one side, the snakes are 

executed in red and black on a white ground. On the opposite, 

the background is split into two black and red quadrants, while 

the snake itself is white. The interlocking, alternating colors 

mimic double- or triplecloth, although the fabric is patterned 

with supplementary technique (brocade). 

The transparency of the style also allows for a compendium 

of small, linear motifs to be embedded within the outlines of 

the figures and the space around them. The teeming multitude 

(which includes birds, spotted cats, deer and llama) suggests 

concepts of predation, consumption and fertility. Some of the 

motifs are miniature replicas of the “moon animal" that appears 

in the lower panel. This mythical hybrid of the coati, fox and 

feline is associated with north coast iconography. 

Although this benign figure shares the tricorn shape of the 

head and ears with the snake, its lacks the reptile’s sharptoothed, 

exaggerated jaw, a recurring motif in this art style. 

Nevertheless, the complementarity of the two icons is inferred. 

124

186 

Fragment 

Llama with Bag 

Late Wari-related culture (North-Central Coast) 

AD 800-1000 


1" x 2" (each figure) 

126

187 

Fragment 

"Moon Animal" (Coati/Fox/Feline) 

Late Wari-related culture (North-Central Coast) 

AD 800-1000 


7½" x 8" 

Rendered here with greater solidity of line and color, 

the related motifs from these two separate textiles 

are similar in style and reference to the variety of figures 

incorporated into the design of cat. 185. The imagery 

evidently reflects the animal cosmologies of the north 

central coast cultures. 

The creatures are typically characterized by an elongated, 

jagged snout or mouth and protruding ears. One of the 

most common representations is as a seated profile figure 

displaying the curving tail, three-toed or clawed foot and 

markings of the mythical “moon animal" that improbably 

blends coati, fox and feline traits (cat. 187). 

On the other hand, the silhouette of the standing 

quadruped portrayed in cat. 186 (left) apparently describes 

a llama or alpaca—animals of enormous economic and 

cultural significance to Andean cultures. As shown here, 

the camelid does indeed sport long, banana-shaped ears 

and a cloven hoof. But the artist has equally managed to 

use the illusion of visual depth to convey the impression 

of four legs planted solidly on the ground. The dangling 

ornament may allude to highland practices of hanging 

small pouches stuffed with herbs and coca leaf around the 

animals’ necks. 

127

The discovery of multiple textile deposits at the Pachacamac shrine, representing 

distinct cultures and time periods during the long epoch between Wari and Inka 

domination, attests to the considerable overlap between and mutual influence of coastal 

styles and iconography. 

Textiles were traded between cultures and exchanged as tribute across a wide region. 

Related types of weavings have been found in diverse locations—from Ica, in the 

south, to the Huarmey Valley, in the north. As a consequence, the cultural attribution or 

chronology for numerous extant pieces such as this tunic fragment remains an imprecise 

art. 

Thin figural stripes along the outer edge resonate with highland weaving traditions, 

while a bird-shaped eye motif echoes Wari conventions. But the icon itself is that 

mythical conflation dubbed the "moon animal," which was inherited from the Recuay 

and ubiquitous in north-central coast imagery. Jaguar spots on the face, combined with 

the coati's ringed tail and three-clawed foot, reveal one inspiration for the motif—if not 

the significance of the mix of references. 

An unusual symbol emerging from the animal's mouth is a potential clue. This 

segmented/tripartite form is similar to the San Pedro cactus emblem frequently applied 

to the classic Wari staff-bearer’s staff. However, in this context it is also tempting to 

interpret the motif as a glyph or sign indicating sound or speech—particularly given the 

overlap between fox and coati in local iconography. 

History and ritual practice substantiate the association. For example, the golden effigy 

of a sacred fox or vixen was installed at Pachacamac, which was renowned as temple of 

oracles. Similarly, a drawing made by the Chronicler Huamán Poma during the later 

post-conquest era portrays an Inka diviner consulting various animal oracles—among 

them a fox with a scroll emanating from its mouth. 

Additionally, the design is framed by rows of parrots—a bird especially associated with 

talkativeness and the shamanic arts—which only seem to reinforce a theme of oracle 

communication or mediation. 

128

188 


"Moon Animal" 

Wari-related culture (Huarmey Valley? 

North-Central Coast?) 

AD 800-1000 


weft, warp patterning 

7½" x 5" 

129

189 


Bird 


AD 800-1000 


5½" x 15" 

These two figural bands appear to be from a type of regional 

tapestry-woven tunic, either a Wari-related style or a later 

derivation. Although the icons are familiar, the more naturalistic mode 

of representation departs from the geometric conventions of classic 

Wari textile design. 

The improvisational combination and progression of vibrant color, 

which is recalibrated from motif to motif, is nevertheless virtuoso. 

The evident skill in dyeing and sensitive color selection, as well as the 

extensive use of a rich cochineal red for the background, attest to the 

prestige of the garments. 

The imagery apparently reflects a coastal habitat. While the rendering 

of the hooked-beak bird (cat. 190) recalls the harpy eagle that was an 

essential artistic and shamanic symbol for highland Andean cultures, it 

also suggests species more commonly found in the local environment, 

such as the osprey or hawk, as well as the imported macaw parrot. 

This is also true for the quadruped depicted in cat. 191 which takes its 

attributes from the jaguar, coati, fox and “moon animal." Incongruously, 

this animal is paired with a fish—another cultural locator. The modular, 

target-like patterning anticipates certain Inka tokapu motifs. 

130

190 

Band from a Tunic Quadruped 


AD 800-1000 


4½" x 3½"

In addition to acknowledging the frog or toad’s implicit 

shamanistic hunting and water magic, coastal Wari artists 

evidently found humor in its capacious mouth and bulbous 

eyes. 

A wonderfully surreal amulet (cat. 192) is imbued with the 

potency of its snake and frog symbolism, as well as the solar 

brilliance of the attached parrot feathers. The structure of this 

curious adornment imparts a series of symbolic contrasts: of 

material (wool/feathers), domain (sky/water/earth) and animal 

textures (feathers/scales/skin). 

191 

Tabs from a Tie or Sash 

Frog Faces 


AD 800-1000 

Cotton, camelid wool; plain weave, tapestry weave 

1½" x 1½" (each) 

192 

Woven Talisman Frog and Snake 


AD 800-1000 

Camelid wool, feathers; tapestry weave, exposed warps, 

tassel, cordage 

9½" x 2" 

The water- and earth-dwelling snake and frog speak of 

liquidity and a deep, wet underworld. The motif may also allude 

obliquely to a toxin secreted by the skin of the giant marine 

toad Bufo marinus, which has visionary properties known to 

ancient ritualists. 

Andean people also perceive the form of a celestial toad in 

the dark clouds of the Milky Way. This constellation, named 

Hanp'atu,is seen to nestle under the tail of the serpentine 

shape Mach’acuay. 1 The conjunction of the two images in this 

curious woven talisman may describe their proximity in the 

night sky. The passage of these two constellations is thought to 

be connected with seasonal events, as well as the life cycle of 

the toad, whose abundance signals the arrival of rain or spring, 

but whose disappearance presages drought. 

The three frog faces decorating the tabs of a cotton tie or 

sash (cat. 191) lack the rootlike appendage on the other image. 

But their vivacity of color and expression reflect the quality 

of attention that was paid even to such minor decorative 

embellishments as to much more complex weavings. 

1 Gary Urton, At the Crossroads of the Earth and Sky (1981): 170-171. 

132

133

193 

Band from a Tunic? 

Zoomorphic Figures 


AD 800-1000 

Camelid wool; doublecloth 

20" x 3" 

This bestiary similarly transcends ecological boundaries. 

Yet each figure in the progression (toad, lizard, feline, 

unknown zoomorph) is treated in the same way stylistically, 

with concentric patterning suggesting multiple faces, and 

bristling feet/appendages implying heads of their own. 

While rooted in the aesthetics of this tradition, the markings 

have symbolic connotations. All manner of creatures from the 

natural world share these spotted skins and pelts (jaguar, ocelot, 

anaconda snake, Bufo toad)—and all are dangerous, exotic or 

transformational beings. 

The designs also record different angles of view. Only the 

feline-like figure is presented in profile. The other splayed 

figures are seen from above or below, making it all the easier 

to appreciate their quasi-human forms. This perspective or 

interpretation is especially pronounced in the reptilian/ 

amphibian motifs (center), which suggest a male-and-female 

pair or fertility theme. 

134

194 

Corner from a Ritual Cloth? 

Miniature Weaving? 

Coastal Wari culture (North-Central Coast) 

AD 800-1000 


12" x 11" 

Each of the motifs arrayed here (parrot/raptor, frog/toad, fox/feline) can be 

associated with a particular habitat within the varied topography of the 

Central Andes, including the high sierra, the tropical forest, the desert and the 

river valleys. Possibly their juxtaposition encodes information pegged to annual 

cycles, such as the seasonal appearance of water and certain plants or animals. 

It is equally plausible that each creature is symbolic of shamanic concepts or 

activities. Such is the range of connotations interwoven into an apparently 

folkloric or naive design. 

The rendering is similarly more sophisticated than it seems. The figures are 

executed in reverse, so that their forms are articulated in the negative space of 

the plain-woven white cotton ground, while their features are defined with 

colorful supplementary weft threads. 

135

MOCHE WARI 

HUARMEY

Moche Wari and Huarmey Cultures 

The Moche culture (AD 100-700) is renowned for the monumentality of its 

ceremonial architecture; the splendor of its regalia wrought in gold and silver; 

and its extraordinary, iconographically rich pottery and portrait vessels. Yet 

because of climatic conditions on the north coast of Peru, almost no textiles have 

survived among its ceremonial and ritual arts. 

Aside from the imagery represented in fine detail on painted ceramics, the closest 

reflection of Moche styles of dress and fabric design is a distinctive body of textiles 

thought to originate from a site known as Campanario, in the Huarmey Valley. The 

region is located about halfway between the Moche (and later Chimú) heartland on the 

north coast and the central seaboard dominated by the Lima cultures and the ancient 

Pachacamac center. The area seemingly represents the southernmost extension of Late 

Moche culture or influence. However, the artistic and symbolic themes reflected in 

ceremonial weavings associated with this little-studied culture similarly reveal the 

imposition of Wari rule and the impact of Wari cosmology and aesthetics. 

It is unclear, therefore, whether the iconography seen in these textiles represents a 

transitional phase between Moche and Wari or whether they merely record the 

increasing influence of novel Wari religious ideology on fundamental, long-enduring 

north-central coast artistic and mythological themes. 

The surviving material consists primarily of slit tapestry-woven panels, sleeves and 

borders from tunics or short shirts. The development and continued use of this fabric 

structure—which is unique to this tradition, and is only found at the coast—indicates 

that the Huarmey elites had a reason for maintaining their local styles despite the 

obvious prestige associated with Wari icons and ideas. Perhaps it was to emphasize their 

cultural distinction and origins, or to distinguish themselves from their Wari overlords 

or administrators (some of whom must have been dressed in the classic type of tapestry 

tunic). 

Textile iconography reflects the fusion of Moche, Wari and locally inspired visual 

themes. Indeed, much of the imagery can be related to the wealth of mythical and ritual 

narratives painted on earlier Moche ceramics, and may even derive from them. That 

influence or legacy is explored in the individual captions. 

139

195 

Fringed Border from a Tunic 

Cup-and Weapon-Bearer 

Moche-Wari culture, Huarmey Valley 

AD 750-1000 

Cotton, camelid wool; interlocking and slit tapestry weave 

2¼" x 9½" 

Literature 

Conklin 1979, 178, fig. 18. 

Many of the designs featured in Moche-Wari style 

tunics resemble architectural friezes, with deities and 

supernatural characters inset between decorative blocks of 

geometric patterning. The textiles seem to forge or project a 

connection with the ceremonial and ritual compounds built 

for the culture’s rulers and dynasties. 

This textile “frieze” presents two figures on a beautiful blue 

ground—the clarity of one (detail at left, above) offsetting 

the prismatic form of the other, which is embedded in a 

linear mosaic. Conceivably, the contrast distinguishes a "real" 

personage from a supernatural or transfigured one. 

The wing-caped ritualist or warrior holds a set of objects 

that can be linked with earlier Moche pictorial myths. That 

influence appears to have lingered in this regional art style, 

even as Wari influence began to reshape iconographic modes 

and themes. 

The objects comprise a Moche-style club and beaker. Goblets 

brimming with ritual liquids (possibly human or animal blood, 

or the fermented corn beverage chicha) are an important motif 

in the great Moche narratives describing the Presentation 

and Sacrifice ceremonies. Clubs are prominent in imagery 

depicting combat, as well as in motifs representing "captured" 

weapon bundles. They are clearly warrior insignia. 

This militaristic/sacrificial context illuminates the significance 

of the second visually chaotic figure, which emerges when 

the design is reversed (detail at left, below). Upside-down, 

the image reveals a disembodied head (perhaps of the same 

individual) bearing a supersized headdress with multiple 

emanations terminating in abstract birds. The motif suggests a 

form of transcendence achieved in death. 

140

141

196 

Fragment from a Tunic or Sleeve 

Winged Staff-Bearer 


AD 750-1000 


5½" x 8½" 

The Wari winged staff-bearer is given the coastal treatment in terms of technique, 

stylization and symbolic additions. 

The image reflects the prestige and charisma of this foreign religious icon, although the 

mechanism of how that highland cult and cosmology came to be adopted by Huarmey 

culture is still not fully understood. Military domination is the most likely explanation. 

In this new hybrid style, the motif is applied to a horizontal band, which reflects a 

coastal aesthetic and format unlike the vertical patterning common to highland tunics. 

Areas of slit patterning are an important element of these compositions, echoing the 

openwork walls and dimensional friezes decorating adobe palaces and ritual buildings. 

A cresting-wave border (personified with eyes that turn each scroll into an animal or 

bird) similarly locates the image within a coastal tradition. 

Other locally derived details include a double wing or cape reminiscent of the wedge 

or crescent-shaped backflap or ornament worn by Moche personages. The hooked 

staff or implement does not conform to Wari insignia either. But perhaps the most 

anomalous and innovative feature is the subtle implication that this figure has both 

male and female characteristics (breasts and male genitals). Presumably, this quality of 

ambiguity or androgyny had connotations of procreation or fertility. 

142

197 

Fragment from a Tunic or Sleeve 

Winged Staff-Bearer 


AD 750-1000 


5" x 18½" 

Marine symbolism and mythology shaped the visual 

traditions of all coastal societies. Inevitably, it even 

inflected "official" cult iconography introduced by Wari 

imperialism, as seen in an imaginative interpretation that 

envisions the anthropomorphic staff-bearer with a fish-shaped 

head. 

Two distinct modes are integrated in this finely woven panel, 

which makes use of an especially beautiful combination of 

colors, including an unusual green background. 

The slit tapestry–woven openwork (a hallmark of Huarmey 

design) is especially precise, puncturing interlocking red and 

yellow stepped forms that suggest platforms or stairways. Each 

terrace is embellished with a flying bird ferrying a trophy 

head or other ornament. Although architectural facades were 

commonly decorated with bird imagery, certain species had 

more visceral and grisly connotations. Vultures and condors 

were especially associated with the consumption of dead 

bodies left on battlefields or put out after sacrificial rites. 

These stylized background motifs, composed with small, linear 

color blocks, strongly contrast with the scale and solidity of 

the primary icon. This unusual staff-bearer not only displays 

the essential insignia of the role (the supernatural headdress 

and staff) but also wields a new armament in the form of the 

traditional Andean woven slingshot, used for hunting and 

combat. 

144

198 


The Sacrificer 


AD 750-1000 

Camelid wool; interlocking and slit tapestry weave 

4" x 8½" 

Death at the hands of a fearsome decapitator was a theme common to both north 

coast and highland cultures. It dominated the iconography long before the Wari 

began to interface with Late Moche societies in places like the Huarmey Valley, where 

this and related textiles were purportedly found. 

The peanut-shaped eye and markings applied to the face of this version of the ritualist 

have specific ethnic associations—peanuts being an important symbol for the northern 

lords of Moche and Sipan. Otherwise, the visage, demeanor and style of portrayal of 

this Huarmey Sacrificer is more indebted to the highland tradition. In Wari imagery, 

the demonic character frequently displays the long muzzle and toothy jawbone of a 

llama or alpaca (differentiating it from the snub nose and fangs of the feline). Indeed, the 

camelid-featured Sacrificer is one of the primary icons depicted in Wari tunic design. 

Here, the Sacrificer is frozen dramatically in the act of dealing a mortal blow to his 

victim, one hand high over his shoulder in a striking motion. It is unclear whether the 

weapon is the crescent-shaped tumi blade or a stone mace head. 

The large severed head has the same long hair seen on the many heads that stud the 

open-weave "walls," as well as the Sacrificer’s back appendage—like so many effigies 

or portrait vessels. These individuals also wear the unique four-cornered hats identified 

with Wari dignitaries. Are they spectators or victims? It is tempting to read this tableau 

as either a cautionary message to potential invaders or one commemorating a Huarmey 

victory. 

The distinctive color scheme, with its predominant ochre, yellow, red and pink hues, 

anticipates the palette favored by succeeding cultures, especially the Chimú. 

146

199 

Sleeve or Band from a Tunic 

Decapitator with Tumi Knife 


AD 750-1000 


4½" x 14" 

Literature 

Brugnoli, Sinclaire and Hoces de la Guardia 2007, 12. 

This schematically rendered but animated interpretation of a ritual decapitator 

with a tumi blade adheres more closely to regional artistic styles than does the 

Wari-influenced version in cat. 198. Several traits place the composition within the 

transitional period between Wari culture and the rise of the Chimú state. 

Befitting this personage's role as a taker of human life, the long, curving plumes 

drooping over his head terminate in other stylized heads. This adornment appears to 

be a prototype for the headdress that subsequently becomes the major signifier for 

describing supernatural or paramount status in Chimú art. Similarly, the visual emphasis 

on long, narrow, modular shapes is conceptually akin to the figurative designs carved in 

low relief on the walls of Chan Chan (the huge capital of the Chimor kingdom). 

In addition to a platform behind the figure, another architectonic element is located in 

front. This rectangle (which also features bird imagery) may designate an open courtyard 

or other enclosure. In Moche traditions, for example, certain plazas were used specifically 

for the display of human sacrifices. Huarmey societies probably continued this practice. 

148

200 


Head of the Decapitator (with Cactus Motif?) 


AD 750-1000 

Camelid fiber, cotton; interlocking and slit tapestry weave 

6½" x 15" 

The elaborately festooned head of the mythical Decapitator takes up 

the entire pattern field. The figure is abbreviated, but nonetheless 

laden with intricate versions of the customary symbols. 

It may be a modern-day imposition to ascribe a demonic quality to 

this supernatural personage. The elongated head (with otherworldly 

doubled eyes) apparently conflates motifs from several sources, including 

the Wari “Llama Sacrificer" and a Moche iguana deity dubbed “Curly 

Top." 1 

Although the figure is truncated, a labyrinthine appendage terminating 

in the head of a bird of prey replaces the usual wing. Other motifs 

introduce references rooted in Tiwanaku art (the ultimate source of this 

cosmology). That iconography links the camelid with the visionary San 

Pedro cactus, such as on the famous Bennett Stela, which includes the 

image of a llama or alpaca transporting a large flowering cactus plant 

on its back and head. The hallucinogen was key to Andean rites and 

ceremonies. 

As the images in this catalogue demonstrate, the evolution of this cactus 

symbol can be traced through Chavín, Nasca, Tiwanaku and Wari art. 

Potentially, that visual history explains the white inflorescence budding 

from the top of this head, as well as the hexagonal motif with three 

“fingers" that dangles from the front and back of the headdress. This 

enigmatic symbol may represent a slice of the stalk of that magical 

plant or its white flower. If so, it suggests that the L-shaped “tongue" 

emerging from the Decapitator's mouth possibly indicates speech, song 

or another kind of sound. 

1 Christopher Donnan and Donna McClelland, Moche Fineline Painting: Its Evolution and Its Artists 

(1999): 47, fig. 3.14. 

151

201 

Panel "Monkey" Lord 


AD 750-10000 


8" x 9½" 

Published 

de Lavalle 1985, 239. 

Literature 

Conklin 1979, 177, fig. 15. 

Unraveling the meaning of this spectacular, richly textured image leads in multiple 

directions and to diverse visual sources, ranging from Moche to Wari. 

The staff-bearer is conceived in the visual currency of the north coast cultures. Anchored 

in space by a thick, unfurling tail, he has the regal demeanor and erect pose of a divine 

or paramount individual. This splendid figure assumes a simian form, exploiting the 

implicit likeness of monkey and man, but also displays the cosmological stepped-cross 

motifs that adorn Chimú felines and coatis. The antler headdress, carved staff or oar, 

breechcloth and short tunic patterned with trophy heads emulate local emblems and 

styles of dress. 

The weaver's ingenuity here is exemplified by the way the Monkey Lord’s tail 

simultaneously turns into the body of an adjacent serpentine/dragon-like creature, 

whose large head quivers with emanations. The preponderance of angled lines and 

dynamic zigzags imparts a strong sense of energy to the composition. 

Among many significant details, the forked or crescent element clenched between the 

deity's teeth can be singled out. While this may describe the U-shaped nasal ornament 

worn by the region’s elites, the motif also suggests a symbol for song or speech (or 

the particular sounds associated with death rituals). The sign may allude as well to the 

connection between monkeys and water. Among tropical forest cultures, the loud roar 

of howler monkeys is thought to presage the arrival of rain—surely one of the powers 

associated with this supernatural being. 

152

202 

Panel from a Tunic? 

Staff-Bearer with Mouth Emanation 

Moche-Wari culture, Huarmey Valley? 

AD 750-1000 



6¼" x 6¼" 

Published 

Anton 1984, fig. 101. 

Acutely slanted lines and wedge shapes are some of several 

idiosyncratic stylistic features seen in this variant of the 

north coast Winged Sacrificer. 

The figure carries a painted pole thrust into a huge severed 

head wrapped in a bulky turban. The tie-dyed(?) design on this 

headcloth is markedly different from the wave motifs decorating 

the Sacrificer's own crown. That subtle distinction between 

styles of headdressing suggests that the image commemorates 

the defeat and death of an outsider or enemy combatant, who 

would have been identified by different attire. 

As in the portrayal of a Monkey Lord in cat. 201, an abstract 

sign or glyph projects conspicuously from the figure’s jutting 

jaw and mouth. Although this enigmatic motif could denote 

a tongue or something ingested, plausibly it also signifies an 

exhalation of sound or breath. In Moche iconography, the act 

of whistling marked the sacred moment just prior to a ritual 

sacrifice or burial, alerting the wakas and ancestors to the gift 

of a human life. 1 

A minor detail illustrates how Andean weavers availed 

themselves of any opportunity to produce "double-entendre" 

figures out of adjacent motifs and negative space. With the 

mere addition of a stray limb to the back of the deity's foot, 

the feline head and paw attached to the bottom of his wing 

delineate the profile form of a pouncing or running cat (left). 

One wonders how much this kind of hidden or supplemental 

imagery reflected the individual artist’s spin on the standardized 

iconographic canon. 

1 Elizabeth Benson, The Worlds of the Moche on the North Coast of Peru (2012): 107. 

154

203 


Feline and Worshipers 

Moche-Wari culture, Huarmey Valley or North Coast 

AD 1000-1470 


8½" x 7½" 

Literature 

Stone-Miller 1992b, cat. 60. 

The notion that the feline is the preeminent embodiment 

of spiritual or shamanic energy is reiterated endlessly in 

Andean iconography. 

The status of this supernatural animal in relation to the people 

who regarded it with reverence, awe and fear is expressed in 

this intricate composition. The magnitude of the cat quite 

overwhelms the adjacent host of smaller human figures (posed 

sideways) with their arms raised in the traditional gesture of 

veneration. 

The worshipers are hidden within a geometric design that 

takes advantage of the slit tapestry weave and the irregular 

color pattern that breaks up the repeat motifs in a rhythmic 

sequence. The scene is framed by the traditional scrolling 

wave/bird border. 

156

204 


Warrior with Antler Headdress 

Moche-Wari culture, Huarmey Valley? 

AD 750-1000 


5" x 3¾" 

Literature 

Amano Museum 1979b, fig. 41. 

A 

pair of giant antlers yields a headdress for this otherwisestraightforward 

portrayal of a Huarmey warrior garbed in 

the standard triangular male breechcloth, and holding a spearthrower 

and bladed weapon. 

The antlers clearly serve a descriptive purpose, comparing the 

prowess, speed and virility of the figure with male deer who 

use their bony horns as weapons when vying for dominance. 

The fierce clashing sound of interlocking antlers possibly 

evoked hand-to-hand combat. 

In earlier Moche art, both warriors and enemy captives were 

also metaphorically represented as deer. Although the analogy 

of the hunt and the kill is a visceral one, the depictions of 

wounded deer, seated and dressed like humans, are striking for 

their dignity. 

Esteem for the animal was evidently kept alive within 

Huarmey culture as well, which adapted the symbolism for a 

Wari-influenced design of vertically arrayed figures, presented 

frontally like the classic staff-bearer icon. 

158

205 

Border from a Tunic 

Mythical Creature (Llama/Deer/Frog) 


AD 750-1000 



2¾" x 34½" 

If ever there was a compressed symbolic narrative or an 

improbable composite animal in Andean iconography, this 

antlered, sprouting, indescribable creature exemplifies it. The 

design layout, juxtaposing a single, discrete figure with an area 

of solid-colored slit tapestry weave conforms to Huarmey 

styles. But the figure has little precedent and is difficult to 

decode. 

The traits of several different animals, and multiple vantage 

points, are fused into an intricate, surreal form. The core figure 

has the sinuous, attenuated form of a spider monkey with a 

spiraling tail and many rootlike limbs, while the antlered head 

may allude to a deer or llama. Its extended tongue is continuous 

with the spinal column, while its haunches are rendered like 

those of a squatting toad or frog. 

The organic character of the design, the water symbolism and 

the fact that in Moche iconography budding antlers on deer 

were apparently equated with budding leaves cohere into an 

icon that may celebrate seasonal fecundity and growth. 

159

206 


Warrior with Tumi Headdress and Spear 

Moche-Wari culture, North Coast, Huarmey Valley? 

AD 750-1000 


8½" x 3½" 

Literature 

Kajitani and Nakajima 1980, fig. 31. 

While knowledge of indigo dyeing was clearly highly 

developed in the Andes from early periods, the extensive 

use of this color is atypical in most traditions. Thus the deep 

blue-black background of this textile is an unusual feature, as is 

the thinline, intricate style of representation. 

The design's strong diagonals and kinetic quality are established 

by the long, thin pole that this long-snouted personage holds 

at an angle against his body, echoing the angular shape of his 

head emblem and the position of his legs. This object, and the 

way it is being thrown or thrust downward, suggests a spear or 

mace pole; the figure's bent-knee posture similarly conveys a 

sense of active movement. The crescent tumi blade worn on his 

head is the insignia of the warrior (and potential decapitator). 

A related character endowed with this distinctive elongated 

face can be recognized in Moche iconography depicting 

supernatural confrontations rather than "real" battles. This 

figure derives more directly from that tradition, and shows 

little similarity with conventional Wari figures. 

160

207 


Warrior with Tumi Headdress 

Unidentified North Coast style, Lambayeque? Pacatnamu? 

AD 750-1100 


4½" x 3" 

Despite a common repertoire of artistic themes and figure 

types, a range of distinct textile styles are associated with 

the north-central coast cultures that were part of the Moche 

sphere. These distinctions indicate a variety of place origins 

within this multivalley region, as well as varying degrees of 

influence from—or familiarity with—either Moche or Wari 

models. Many textiles, however, cannot be properly attributed. 

This squat, blocky, stylized figure selects from both sources, 

combining the tumi-blade head insignia of the Moche warrior 

with the short staff and pose of the Wari icon. An illegible 

black-and-white element in his headdress may allude to 

the Wari wing (if so, it is incongruously placed). But it also 

resembles a plumed mythical bird worn as a head adornment 

by Moche personages. 

Although the figure is devoid of much detail, the constructivist 

approach to its composition, using an assortment of blocky, 

outlined geometric shapes, is uncommon. 

161

208 

Band 

Undulating Snake 

Coastal Wari culture, Huarmey Valley? 

AD 800-1000 

Cotton; interlocking and slit tapestry weave 

6" x 1½" 

In a witty synthesis of form and content, Andean weavers 

employed serpentine imagery for long, narrow borders, 

headbands and sashes. 

The gliding, spotted snake is given an angular, somewhat 

architectonic interpretation here. The lively pattern of erratic 

multicolored squares recalls the niches and openings that were 

distinctive features of north coast ritual and palatial buildings. 

162

209 

Band "Water Cat" 

Coastal Wari culture, North Central Coast 

AD 800-1000 


3" x 11½" 

This more intricate, richly colorful rendering endows the 

undulating snake with a whiskered cat head. This fusion of 

snake and feline is a pervasive theme in Andean iconography. 

While it may have been contrived to express supernatural 

ferocity or energy, other Andean metaphors offer equal insight 

into its significance. 

The practice of agriculture near the coast was always dependent 

on rivers and irrigation canals. Although we do not know what 

symbolism such natural or man-made channels inspired among 

these ancient farming societies, it may have been similar to 

Inka ideas. The Inkas personified their rivers and springs with 

puma heads and tails; they also called their irrigation channels 

"silver snakes." It is therefore feasible that this distinctive icon 

is a visual sign for such essential watercourses and the spiritual 

forces that animated them. 

163

CHIMÚ 

LAMBAYEQUE 

CHANCAY 

PACHACAMAC 

ICA

Chimú and Lambayeque, 

Chancay and Pachacamac, 

Ica and South Coast Cultures 

Towards the end of the first millennium, circa AD 

1000, the Tiwanaku highland deity and its retinue of 

supernatural staffbearers, which had swept through 

the Andes on the wings of Wari domination, yielded their 

preeminence to another cult icon on the north and central 

coast of Peru. 

This divine being––an ancestral lord or a creator deity of local 

origin––was portrayed in the posture of the archaic Andean 

Staff God. The static figure stood gazing forward, usually 

displaying a staff, knife, trophy head, or other emblem in each 

hand. Atypically, the personage was also crowned with a large 

crescent-moon headdress and often stood upon a stylized 

wave. Moon and water, or Si and Ni in the now long-extinct 

Muchic language: apt symbols for cultures dominated by their 

proximity to the Pacific Ocean. 

The dramatic shift in cult focus and imagery is linked with the 

emergence of the Chimor and Sicán-Lambayeque kingdoms 

several centuries after their ancestral Moche culture had 

finally succumbed to the droughts and floods brought about 

by a catastrophic El Niño oceanic/weather event in the 7th 

century AD. 

The Wari Empire had been an overwhelming and integrating 

force across much of the ancient Andes for about 400 years 

(although it had only marginally interacted with late Moche 

groups before both cultures collapsed). As its influence 

declined around AD 900, the numerous regional societies 

that had come under its religious and aesthetic sway began 

a process of political and artistic diversification. This was 

especially evident along the coast, where many valleys and 

independent chieftaincies saw the florescence (or resurgence) 

of separate, local traditions that introduced new iconographic 

themes into the Andean artistic repertoire. 

The economic power and aristocratic wealth that was 

cultivated at Chanchán, the seat of the Chimú royal dynasty 

in the Moche Valley, was evidently harnessed to military 

might. This convergence drove Chimú expansionism, which 

first eclipsed the more northerly, independent Lambayeque 

cultures, then reached south towards and beyond the centrally 

situated Chancay valley. By the time of the Chimú peoples’ 

final subjugation to Inka imperialism in the mid 1400s, the 

kingdom’s area of control and influence covered a 500-mile 

stretch of the Peruvian coast, presenting a formidable rival 

to––and prize for––the highland society. 

Chanchán was the most magnificent of the monumental 

complexes built in the region during this era (circa AD 

1200–1400). This enormous, multi-generational, labyrinthine 

cluster of ten royal compounds was contemporaneous with 

several other esteemed coastal ceremonial centers, such as 

Pachacamac and Pacatnamú, the great oracle temples that 

attracted tribute and pilgrims from across the Andes. 

The sumptuousness, skilled intricacy, and innumerable quantity 

of objects created by the several thousand artists and craftsmen 

who lived and worked exclusively within the high walls of 

Chanchán, paint the image of a society that at its pinnacle was 

dedicated to grand displays and the accumulation of wealth. 

167

Artistry, splendor, and excellence of production were equally 

social imperative and social prerogative. The abundance of state 

and personal regalia, textiles, blackware pottery, featherwork, 

gold and silver adornment, and ritual artifacts massed in 

the storehouses and royal burial mounds of Chanchán was 

legendary, even before the Spanish began extracting their 

riches. Chimú artisans were so highly regarded, in fact, that 

their new Inka overlords coopted this workforce, adopting 

their technologies and employing many of the finest weavers 

and metalsmiths in Cusco and other outposts of their empire. 

The Chimor state style favored surface complexity, a 

proliferation of texture, and a multiplicity of techniques and 

materials. While ritual and burial garments and hangings 

were lightweight and sheer, their openwork or gauze weave 

cotton foundations were generally elaborated with brocaded 

or tapestry-woven medallions or roundels and thickly sewn 

with luxurious tufts and tiers of tassels and fringes. Many 

of these three-dimensional elements are worked with faces 

and figures, as if the wearer was embodying a network of 

human relationships such as a clan or lineage. The emphasis on 

cochineal red and pink dyes reflected special access to camelid 

wools, which are particularly receptive to this insect-derived 

colorant. As in the case of Spondylus shell, these vivid red hues 

probably connoted royalty and prestige. The copious amount 

of wool used for such ceremonial textiles was a bold statement 

of status, as were the tunics, tabards, fans, ear ornaments, and tall 

crowns embellished with multihued Amazonian bird feathers 

or layers of delicately wrought gold ornamentation. 

Conquest, political dominance, and prestige, together with 

the widespread distribution of luxury goods, account for the 

diffusion of a broadly “Chimú style” of design and representation 

over the entire north and central coast region. This Chimú- 

Chancay cultural sphere is perhaps best understood as a 

synthesis of locally derived and imported iconographic themes 

driven by the needs of a powerful, rich aristocracy. A common 

symbolic and visual language prevailed in all media. This is 

especially marked in textile art, even as particular weaving and 

surface design techniques, or forms of dress or ritual cloth, 

came to be favored by one society or another. Under Chimú 

hegemony, textiles woven across a spectrum of time and place 

reveal a general formal similarity (of color scheme, styles of 

depiction, motifs). 

That visual and cultural overlap hinders our ability to 

locate the cultural sources of most textiles without specific 

knowledge of their archaeological context. The picture is 

further complicated by the relocation of Chimú weavers and 

textile artists during the Chimú-Inka period. That event, 

as well as the mechanisms of Inka trade, likely explains an 

enigmatic group of textiles that seemingly blend north coast 

motifs with south and south-central coast weaving techniques. 

(Indeed, according to Ann Rowe, the greatest numbers of 

Chimú textiles have been found in the Chancay, Ica, and Nasca 

valleys, where the climatic conditions for textile preservation 

were more favorable.) 

All Andean coastal societies celebrated the vitality of the 

Pacific Ocean, which along with sophisticated irrigation 

works and agricultural practices, enabled their survival in 

an arid and challenging terrain. Even so, the profusion of 

marine symbolism in Chimú art and cosmology (and related 

traditions) is exceptional. It signals a fundamental iconographic 

shift from the visionary themes of Paracas art, for example, 

or the Wari fixation on the Staff-bearer and the Sacrificer, 

and the Moche obsession with ritualized warfare and human 

sacrifice. One that gradually makes room for the depiction of 

more “folkloric” content featuring ordinary people (including 

female effigies) and naturalistic fauna and flora, in addition to 

spirit animals and the extra-ordinary denizens of a supernatural 

realm. That development is conspicuous among the smaller, 

more self-contained societies inhabiting the Chancay, Huaura, 

Lurin, Rimac, Chillon and Chincha valleys (which generally 

comprise the “Chancay” artistic tradition). 

Seabird and fish imagery dominated the painted, low relief, 

geometric friezes decorating the clay lattice openwork walls 

168

of Chanchán’s palatial and administrative structures. Other 

motifs alluding to water or the sea (catfish, manta rays, octopus, 

crustaceans, frogs, cormorants, ducks, shells) abound in works 

of ritual, funerary and ceremonial art. In pictorial scenes 

depicted on cloth and pottery, human figures travel by boat, 

surrounded by shoals of fish. Some figures portrayed in Chimú 

vessels even ride the back of colossal fish or whales (a visual 

metaphor for the ocean itself?). Such characters may allude to 

actual dignitaries or to the large numbers of people who lived 

from the sea (including boatmen, fishermen, Spondylus shell 

hunters, and long-distance traders). 

Much of the iconography has a mythological dimension. 

There is a fluid interchangeability of human and animal being. 

Crowned pelicans are borne on litters by bird attendants in 

imitation of the Chimú nobility; they appear to be standins 

for rulers and dignitaries. The "Moon Animal," another 

ubiquitous magical creature, is also presented seated and 

crowned like an elite. The figure is shown as an iguana (surely 

derived from a reptilian character who consorts with the 

Moche "Wrinkled-Face" god), but also appears in the guise 

of a monkey, feline, fox or coati. Evidently the image could 

accommodate diverse stories. 

The lord or deity with the crescent headdress or feather 

corona that is the principal icon of power and leadership in 

this pan-coastal imagery is subject to infinite interpretation, as 

well as to increasing standardization and simplification, over 

time. The figure’s prevalence and his oceanic symbolism may 

well be connected with origin myths recorded for both the 

Chimú and Lambayeque peoples. 

Accounts transcribed in colonial texts suggest variations of 

a common tale describing the arrival of a putative historical 

founding ancestor by boat or reed raft. This mythical 

progenitor, named Taycanano by the Chimú, reportedly 

established the royal dynasty that ruled the Chimor kingdom 

through nine generations of kings. The last of these historical 

rulers, Minchançaman, was ultimately defeated by the Inka 

around AD 1460. The earlier Sicán groups in the Lambayeque 

and Jequetepeque valleys of the far north coast, which had 

been vanquished by the Chimú general Pacatnamú a century 

earlier (circa AD 1375), had an equivalent dynastic myth and 

primordial lord in Naymlap. 

Massive cinnabar-encrusted, gold and copper funerary masks, 

which are among the most stunning works produced by the 

Lambayeque metalsmiths, seemingly depict the visage of this 

culture hero Naymlap (or his lineage descendants) with his 

characteristic winged or almandine eyes. That supernatural 

eye features similarly on figures portrayed in Lambayeque 

textiles, which despite strong affinities, differ subtly from 

classic Chimú styles of figuration and color. 

Lambayeque iconography can be elaborate and dynamic, 

involving multiple personages enacting ceremonies and 

scenes that condense select mythical sequences from the 

ancient Moche narratives. This trait of visual complexity is 

an extreme contrast to the stylized, reductive figuration of the 

later period Chimú and Chancay aesthetic, where repetitive 

patterning and the rhythmic application of color and color 

variation triumphs over originality of motif and design. 

Yet the discovery of Lambayeque textile offerings at both 

Pachacamac and Pacatnamú––the two far-flung sanctuaries 

that roughly demarcated the northern and southern endpoints 

of the Chimor sphere of influence––reveals the extent of 

cultural interplay in this region and era. These mysterious, 

fragmentary vignettes yield insight into the evolution of 

the broader north-central coast iconographic tradition over 

five centuries, even as that admitted a rich new inventory of 

symbols as well as innovative and virtuoso artistic methods for 

expressing them. 

169

210 

Panel from a Tunic or Hanging 

Sacred Mother Llama and Calf 

Chimú culture 

AD 1000-1476 

Cotton, camelid wool; slit tapestry weave 

7" x 11" 

Literature 

Kajitani and Nakajima 1980, fig. 5. 


A 

fascinating visual narrative, replicated in several Chimú 

textiles, integrates multiple symbolic themes reflecting 

the profound importance of the camelid to Andean peoples. 

The animal is inherently associated with the weaving arts, of 

course. The availability of alpaca fiber greatly spurred creative 

expression and the development of textile technologies across 

the region. Llamas also had a significant place in sacrificial and 

calendrical rituals, as recorded in the Inka period. 

This unique scene, however, celebrates life rather than death or 

sacrifice. It portrays a female llama, with distinctive markings, 

giving birth. Her human attendant wears an unusual doublecrescent 

headdress that indicates exceptional status. Other 

cult priests or figures, wearing llama headdresses, surround 

the birthing pair. Fluttering butterflies place the moment in a 

season of growth and florescence, possibly spring or summer. 

The various fleece patterns and colors seen on camelids 

had specific names, connotations and symbolic applications. 

The dark and light piebald markings of the mother llama, 

for instance, may describe the scattered spotting and brown 

tonalities of the paqomuru llama. 

Multicolored llamas were especially associated with rain rituals 

and sacrifices in Inka religion. But this rare image also evokes 

the Andean “dark cloud" constellation, Yakana. This celestial 

llama, which crosses the Milky Way accompanied by her 

suckling calf, is considered to be the creator and guardian of 

the flocks. 1 

The design thus celebrates animal fertility, elevating a natural 

event to a moment of rich ceremony and cosmological 

significance. 

1 Gary Urton, At the Crossroads of the Earth and Sky: An Andean Cosmology (1982): 

185-188. 

170

171

211 

Fragment from a Garment or Hanging 

Seated Lord in Centipede Headdress 

Lambayeque or Pacatnamu culture 

AD 900-1375 


7" x 6" 

This portrayal of a dignitary or high priest installed within 

an open-air structure appears to derive from a multiepisode 

mythic narrative conceived in the earlier Moche 

period. That context can be deduced from other north coast 

textile iconography, notably that of the Lambayeque kingdom, 

which was conquered and incorporated into the powerful 

Chimú realm around AD 1325. 

The architectural rendering describes a particular style of 

ritual shelter, which was apparently erected on the summits 

of temples and pyramids, although none survive among the 

numerous adobe ruins found along the Pacific seaboard. 

Two striped columns and a painted back wall support a steeply 

pitched, gabled roof decorated with pediments and geometric 

patterns. The dark background of the design establishes a sense 

of spatial depth. 

Other extant pictorial textiles give insight into the rites that 

took place within such precincts. Invariably, the presiding 

dignitary displays a goblet, presumably brimming with a ritual 

libation. Here, a cactus-like motif wafting from the bowl 

may indicate that the brew (probably chicha or corn beer) has 

hallucinogenic properties. However, the liquid could equally 

represent sacrificial blood, as suggested by Moche iconography 

that depicts the Ritual Presentation of Goblets to a similarly 

seated personage. 

Imagery from another, related Pacatnamu garment places this 

(or an equivalent) high-status ruler or lord in a complex scene 

among dancers, weavers and a ritualist who either sacrifices—or 

dances with—a white llama. 1 In the subsequent Inka tradition, 

camelids had an essential function in calendrical rain rituals as 

sacred offerings to the cosmic powers, or wakas. 

The multi-tendril headpiece adorning this personage also 

harks back to Moche symbolism. Although the crown evokes a 

cascade of fluttering feathers seen from the side (as on a crescent 

headdress), the wavy lines also supply multiple legs for a giant 

centipede, replete with pincers, fangs and a segmented body, 

which is worn upside-down. In Moche art, this venomous 

creature is a player in mythological or origin dramas, where it 

challenges and stings the creator deity, Ai Apaec. As an obvious 

signifier of ferocity and danger, it makes a suitable insignia for 

a powerful individual. 

1 Christopher Donnan, “The Moment of Greatest Sanctity: A Pacatnamu Ritual 

Textile,” Hali Annual 1 (1994): 161. 

172

173

212 


Female Dignitary Receiving a Procession 

Lambayeque culture 

AD 1000-1375 



10½" x 5" 

The unusual pictorialism of Lambayeque textile design 

is a legacy from their Moche forebears, who illustrated 

exquisitely detailed mythic narratives on their fine pottery. 

(Their textile iconography is mostly unknown though.) 

Lambayeque and Pacatnamu artists transferred Moche visual 

naturalism and storytelling to the medium of cloth. The 

woven representations of mythological and ceremonial themes 

are greatly simplified, however, focusing on key episodes or 

characters that are presumably drawn from broader north coast 

oral traditions of cultural myth and history. 

One of the major protagonists in Moche iconography is a 

priestess who plays a key role in sacrificial rites. This enigmatic 

personage is sometimes shown traveling by boat or on a mythic 

journey that takes place at sea. Contemporary archaeological 

investigation has uncovered increasing evidence of the 

importance of priestesses and female shamans and healers 

in the Moche world. Nevertheless, women are infrequently 

represented in textile imagery, so this fragment is tantalizing— 

as much for what it suggests about the unknown role of women 

in ritual, as for what can be construed by analogy. 

Executed in the characteristic olive green, gold and white colors 

of the Lambayeque style, the vivid scene portrays a female 

dignitary, garbed in a checkerboard dress and shawl, receiving 

a procession. Borne on litters, these obviously elite individuals 

(warriors? nobles? captives?) carry large arrow bundles on their 

backs. The closest equivalent to this subject matter is found 

among Moche narratives, in which certain episodes culminate 

in the presentation of high-ranking prisoners to assorted 

supernatural and real personages (prior to their gruesome 

dismemberment). 

The stepped platforms or terraces interspersed with rows 

of human heads, shown in the lower register of the design, 

establish the setting as a ceremonial precinct. The heads may 

represent spectators or else a row of trophy heads culled from 

vanquished foes. The display is framed top and bottom with 

motifs that offer a potential clue—fruits that likely symbolize 

th Ulluchu plant, which has anticoagulant properties and was 

associated with blood rites. 

Although the bird perched on the priestess’s head may reflect 

Andean notions that link women shamans with parrots or 

owls, sacrificial tableaux abound in vultures and raptors as well. 

The distinctive shape of the tumi decapitation blade, which is 

placed between the two litter-bearers, may well signal the fate 

that awaits the person they transport. 

174

213 


Ritualist with Staff 


AD 1000-1375 


8½" x 4" 

Literature 

Schmidt 1929, 493, 494. 

Despite the underlying rectilinear structure established by the warp and weft, this 

unusual image achieves a distinctive curving line closer in style to fineline drawing 

or painting. 

Delicate spirals impart an energetic quality to an abstract cruciform motif, which is 

carried through in the strong sense of forward motion conveyed by the stooped or 

leaning figure, the streaming feathers decorating his conical helmet and the crooked staff. 

This odd version of the standard emblem terminates in a human head. The attributes 

(especially the posture and staff) suggest that they identify a specific character from 

legend or history. 

The rich brown color palette, offset by a judicious use of bright white, is typical of 

north coast traditions from the Lambayeque or Pacatnamu region. The textile is related 

to material discovered at Pachacamac, the famed pilgrimage and oracle center on the 

central coast, which evidently received tribute from across the Chimú realm. 

176

177

214 

Panel from a Border 

Narrative Scene 


AD 1000-1375 



4½" x 4½" 

Literature 

Stone-Miller 1992b, 125-126, plate 37. 

The major supernatural icon that dominates Chimú and Lambayeque imagery has 

a regular entourage of human and bird attendants. These secondary characters 

appear in different guises and seem to have interchangeable attributes (suggesting a 

symbolic equivalency). The birds (usually pelicans) impersonate human postures and 

regalia (sometimes quite comically) while human figures, like this confronting pair, may 

grow beaks, crests or winged eyes. The figures also share the iconic crescent headdress. 

This pictorial scene suggests a narrative or ceremonial event involving the handingover 

of a paddle or short staff between an important male personage and a less elite 

individual. 1 Their relative status is indicated by a difference in their size, as well as by 

subtle distinctions in their attire. The larger of the two is garbed in a step-patterned 

tunic and immense striped headdress. The second figure sports only a loincloth and a 

pectoral or design on his bare chest. His less impressive helmet signals a lesser role or 

place in the Lambayeque hierarchy. 

Given the maritime focus of much north coast mythology and ritual activity, it is feasible 

that the beaked fish floating in the background is a visual sign locating this enigmatic 

encounter near the ocean. 

1 See a Lambayeque-style hanging or ritual cloth with identical iconography published by Jacqueline de Bolle et al., 

Rediscovery of Pre-Columbian Textiles (1994): 124-125. 

178

179

215 

Fragment from a Garment or Hanging 

Deity or Ruler? 

Chimú or Lambayeque culture 

AD 1000-1476 


9" x 30" 

Literature 

Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino 2005, 53. 

A 

delicacy of execution and sinuous curvilinearity of form, 

as well as exceptional color, characterize this beautiful 

Lambayeque-style composition. Set within alternating pink 

and yellow diagonal bands, the fresco-like design represents 

the principal north coast icon, whom we might tentatively 

identify as one of the mythological heroes or culture founders, 

Naymlap or Tacaynamo. The figure is surrounded by the longtailed 

birds that make frequent appearance in the region's 

visual mythology. 

Like the dynastic rulers and nobility of the Chimor and 

Lambayeque kingdoms, this personage is attired in ceremonial 

costume consisting of a plumed headdress, a neck ruff or collar 

and a patterned breechcloth. Bags, ornaments or stylized trophy 

heads dangle from his elbows. (This ornamental convention 

can be traced to the deity represented on the Tiwanaku Sun 

Portal.) The Chimú were avid tattoo artists and body painters, 

as reflected in the jaguar or anaconda markings on the figure’s 

chest and legs. 

This designation of supernatural or shamanic status is reinforced 

when the image is reversed, revealing the feet to be birds, and 

the arms and body to be a double-headed snake. 

180

216 

Woven Tassel or Appliqué for a Shirt 

Human Figure with “Feather" Crown 

Pacatnamu or Lambayeque culture 

AD 1000-1375 


7½" x 5" 

Literature 

Donnan 1994, fig. 11. 

An elaborate tassel or woven accessory, which was probably 

applied to a prestigious Lambayeque or Chimú garment, 

depicts a stylized figure in a rayed, crescent-shaped crown. 

The tufted ends of the individual elements suggest a style of 

headdress created with long feathers, such as those obtained 

from the waterfowl or other local birds that appear frequently 

in the region’s imagery. In a spirit of self-referentiality, the 

figure itself holds a multistrand, tufted ornament. 

182

217 

Tassel or Embellishment for a Garment 

Radiant Deity with Weeping Eyes 


AD 1000-1476 



5" x 3" 

Literature 

Amano Museum 1979a, fig. 70. 

This shaped costume embellishment or tassel depicts a 

radiant face with weeping eyes. The personification 

possibly represents a north coast cosmic or creator deity with 

solar, lunar and water attributes. Multicolored rays exploit the 

typical Chimú color palette, emphasizing tonalities of cochineal 

red, gold, white and black. 

The crescent form is the ubiquitous element of Chimú and 

Lambayeque iconography. The motif is employed as a headdress 

for every kind of mythical personage, whether human, bird, 

animal or supernatural entity. 

That its symbolic significance was derived from the moon—a 

celestial being venerated by coastal societies deeply aware of 

its connection with the ocean, the tides and female power—is 

confirmed by north coast myths and origin tales recorded in 

the Spanish Chronicles and later colonial sources. 

183

218 

Incomplete Band or Sash 

Crowned Personage 


AD 1000-1476 

Cotton, camelid wool; interlocking 

and slit tapestry weave 

5¼" x 4¼" 

184

219 

Sash with Tab Ends (fragmentary) 

Deity 


AD 1000-1476 


supplementary weft 

12" x 3" 

Chimú and Lambayeque textile iconography and design focus primarily on a 

personage wearing a crescent (moon) headdress who seemingly portrays a 

major mythological or historical character—possibly the founding ancestor of the 

culture, or one of the many dynastic rulers who were believed to descend from 

him. 

Although it can be assumed that military conquest and turmoil played a large 

part in the pre-Hispanic history of this region, most of these images project a 

static and rather benign quality. By this epoch the icons have been reduced to 

conventionalized motifs that decorate numerous sorts of garments and textile 

accessories. The figures are depicted with remarkable consistency, varying only in 

small details, such as the geometric design of a tunic or the striping or coloration 

of a headpiece. Whether such variations represent artistic license or stylistic shifts 

and changes that occurred over time or place is difficult to gauge without precise 

provenience or radiocarbon dating. 

The deified ruler or ancestor (waka) is shown standing in a presentation or display 

pose; the arms are sometimes positioned in the attitude of reverence with the 

palms face-up. 

The usual symbols of power and aggression may be noted. Many figures carry 

trophy heads and knives or batons, or feature jaguar markings that speak of 

predatory, sacrificial and bellicose acts. 

These two panels appear to be parts of costume accessories, such as sashes or 

textile pendants. The curious, hybrid bird/fish motif repeated in the woven tab 

fringe of cat. 219 manages to allude to both shore and sea, i.e., the two domains 

that shaped ecology and symbolism on the north and central coasts. When viewed 

sideways, the fish's fins or "arms" and tiny decapitation knives recall the mythical 

headhunting sharks and killer whales that appeared in earlier Paracas and Nasca 

iconography. 

185

220 

Fragment from a Garment 

Personage in Crescent Headdress 

Lambayeque or Chimú culture 

AD 1000-1476 


16¼" 7¼" 

Literature 

Stone-Miller 1992b, 128-129. 

Chimú weavers and artists show an aesthetic predilection for triangular shapes and 

curvilinear lines. The style is exemplified by the modular structure of this eccentric 

figure composed from a stack of discrete color blocks. A purple outline around many of 

these elements exaggerates the effect of visual disjointedness. 

Spiral and step motifs—the wave and mountain symbolizing the entire Andean 

universe—embellish the figure’s short, patterned shirt and breechcloth. Similar designs 

decorate his legs or feet, while his arms are painted or tattooed with feline spots. 

The juxtaposition of a major deity or lord (presented frontally) with a bird or birdheaded 

attendant (seen in profile) is a widespread Andean iconographic convention. The 

concept was probably introduced to the coastal traditions by the Wari, but is reinterpreted 

here with more local references. The stocky, anthropomorphic bird standing at the feet 

of the personage displays long, curving feathers—a common motif that was possibly 

inspired by the three long, ornamental plumes seen on the back of the head of the 

large, black-crowned night heron. (That bird also reveals steel blue underwings in flight, 

perhaps explaining the touches of blue incorporated into the image.) 

186

187

221 


Winged Staff-Bearer/Crustaceans 


AD 1000-1470 

Cotton; supplementary warp and 

weft (or doublecloth?) 

9½" x 28" 

Like elite people all over the ancient world, the important 

personae of the north coast kingdoms were transported 

on palanquins and litters. In this idiosyncratic image, litter and 

litter-carrier are actually conflated in the form of a backwardbending 

figure that supports a winged staff-bearer on his flat 

stomach. 

Since there was a long visual tradition in regional art styles of 

representing inanimate objects as alive or animate, it is possible 

that such a litter or hammock (or even an ocean-going raft) is 

embodied by this contorted personage. 

The crescent-moon headdress, as well as the fish floating 

underneath the human raft, are certainly emblematic of the 

ocean—as is the naturalistic crayfish or shrimp motif that is the 

prominent focus of the lower design register. 

188

222 


Personage in a Tortora Reed Boat 

Chimú-Inka culture? 

Circa AD 1400 


13" x 8¾" 

As told by Spanish Chroniclers, the fundamental Chimú 

origin myth recounts the arrival of their dynastic founder 

and his royal entourage from the north in an ocean-traveling raft. 

Apparently this was a common theme on the north coast—the 

sea voyages of other mythical personages (such as the Moche 

priestess) are also recorded in visual myths. 

The mythical crafts were surely similar to the distinctive boats 

constructed from bundled tortora reeds by fishermen and other 

boatmen of the ancient maritime societies of the Peruvian coast 

(and by their modern-day counterparts as well). 

With a combination of wit and economy, the arc-shaped raft 

depicted in this lively image, swimming with fish, is conflated 

with the sea itself. In Chimú pottery designs, the typical reed boat 

is sometimes personified as a giant fish ferrying a passenger on 

its back. (The motif may be what the archaeologist Christopher 

Donnan calls an "artistic adjective," i.e., a visual means for 

communicating, in abbreviated form, the idea of an ocean-going 

vessel.) 

A sculpted architectural frieze found at the Chimor ceremonial 

city of Chan Chan illuminates certain details in this textile 

composition. 1 

The monkey-tailed personage kneels in the stern of the boat, in 

the classic position adopted by Moche and Chimú fishermen and 

oarsmen. He wears the large ear discs of the Andean elites, but 

the colossal “crown" more likely refers to stylized feathers, or to a 

cone- or hornlike hairstyle recorded in pottery iconography. 

An adjacent free-floating, wedge-shaped object may represent a 

paddle, a war club or a type of north coast copper insignia topped 

with a four-sided rattle. Trophy heads and manta rays (not visible 

in this fragment, but known from related designs) dangle from the 

prow. 

1 A photograph of this frieze is published by Arturo Jiménez Borja in Culturas 

Precolombinas: Chimú, ed. José Antonio de Lavalle (1988): 28. 

190

Veering away from the figurative style that is a hallmark of 

the Chimú aesthetic, this enigmatic composition displays 

an atypical sense of abstraction, spatial perspective and symbolic 

compression. 

223 

Fragment from a Shirt? 

Hovering Birds? 


AD 1000-1476 


7" x 12" 

Literature 

Reid 1985, color plate 4. 

The angular crescent form is usually reserved for headdress 

motifs. But in this case, the wearer’s head has shrunk in 

proportion to the crown. This unnatural shift of scale—as 

well as the configuration of the three repeat shapes, which are 

centered upon a small hexagonal element—invites alternative 

readings of the design. 

Firstly, in a subtle manipulation of negative space, the designerweaver 

has conjured the illusion of a schematic face within 

the flecked background. The eyes of this ghostly creature are 

supplied by the two opposed heads, while the hexagon yields 

an open or rounded mouth. 

However, when the crescent motifs are foregrounded, the 

image suggests a scene viewed from above with its characters 

visually foreshortened. The triangular elements evoke 

three hunched, caped personages with outspread arms or, 

alternatively, swooping birds with open wings. The implications 

are mysterious. Are the figures encircling a nest? Gyrating 

around a ritual altar or artifact? 

The design appears to be a more stylized adaptation of an 

image recorded in another Chimú tapestry, which explicitly 

represents the same character as an anthropomorphic bird 

hovering over a raft or boat. 1 

1 See José Antonio de Lavalle, ed., Culturas Precolombinas: Chimú (1988): 211. 

192

193

224 

Panel from a Hanging 

“Moon Animal" 


AD 1000-1476 



22½" x 22" 

Literature 

Rowe 1984, 113, plate 15. 

In the realm of north and central coast iconography, a 

headdress and a litter were apparently sufficient emblems 

for any mythical personage. And unlike in the Wari tradition, 

being shown in a profile view or a seated position was not 

seemingly a sign of lesser rank, but in fact, a designation of 

elevated importance. 

This wonderfully abstract composition, which juxtaposes two 

different points of view and renderings of a reptilian figure, 

is reproduced in numerous Chimú textiles (including a 

monumental hanging in the collection of the Textile Museum). 

Commonly dubbed the "moon animal" (like several other major 

supernatural animals wearing lunar headdresses), the character 

owes its attributes to either the iguana or the caiman. Both 

creatures represented here have the elongated proportions, long 

jaw and jagged teeth of a crocodilian. But the serrated comb 

running along the back and tail may allude to the iguana’s crest 

of fleshy, curving spines. This large arboreal lizard, native to the 

dry tropical forest region north of the Peruvian coastal desert, 

has several "magical" characteristics to recommend it. These 

include an ability to change color and to regenerate a damaged 

tail. Possibly the exotic animal was regarded as a forest spirit. 

Although a north coast pre-Hispanic cult to the moon goddess 

Si is documented in early Spanish Chronicles, it is not known 

how the cast of Chimú mythical characters wearing the crescent 

headdress was connected with it. But it is equally feasible 

that this Chimú figure is a descendant of one of the most 

prominent Moche mythological icons—the iguana—being 

who is a cohort of the "Wrinkled Face" deity. Both characters 

participate in the great sacrificial dramas pictured in pictorial 

narratives painted on Moche pottery. Chimú versions of this 

character suggest that it retained its symbolic preeminence for 

the later culture, even as the depictions became increasingly 

reductive and schematic. 

That process is exemplified in this design—executed in the 

red/yellow/brown color scheme favored by the Chimú— 

whereby the naturalism of the figure (top) is subjected to a 

conventionalized form (below). But the contrast between 

the two motifs also describes the contrast between ordinary 

and supernatural reality, as well as between ordinary and 

supernatural status. The main figures are framed by rows of 

human personages in the venerating pose. 

Note: This textile is incomplete, but it may represent one side of a tunic front. If so, 

we could speculate that the design was replicated and mirrored on the missing half so 

that the entire composition could be read as a giant face with a pair of large eyes and 

eyebrows. 

194

195

225 

Panel or Border 

Standing Iguana 


AD 1000-1476 



6½" x 23½" 

The Chimú textile archive reveals that the mythical seated, 

crowned, iguana-featured deity is generally paired with 

another version of the same magical creature (see cat. 224). 

The striking contrast between the naturalistic style of the 

standing, elongated figure and the exalted, anthropomorphized 

form of the other suggests a visual metaphor. Perhaps it reflects 

cultural notions about supernatural transformation, hierarchy 

or realm. It may even refer to a myth with animal protagonists. 

This panel depicts the character in its most reptilian form. 

However, even this incarnation does not resolve the ambiguity 

as to whether the figure derives from an iguana or a caiman. 

Perhaps it is a conflation of the two (although the spinal crest 

and sawtooth teeth strongly indicate the former). 

In any case, neither species is found in the region where textiles 

with this iconography were woven and displayed. As with the 

monkey, parrot and other tropical forest species, iguanas may 

well have been imported into the Chimú realm as exotic 

specimens. The idea of a mythical caiman, on the other hand, 

was ingrained in Andean art and consciousness (and surely oral 

traditions as well) as a result of Chavín influence on the early 

coastal cultures. 

196

197

226 

Fragment from a Garment? 

Monkey in Crescent Headdress 

Chimú or Lambayeque culture 

AD 1000-1476 


6½" x 4¾" 

227 

Medallion from a Garment? 

Monkey in "Moon" Headdress 

North Coast culture (Chimú?) 

AD 1000-1476 


6½" x 5" 

The angular crescent that is the key symbol and visual 

element in north coast figuration is employed here with 

graphic simplicity to delineate the form of a seated or kneeling, 

crowned monkey in profile. 

Although abbreviated to a geometric shape, the animated 

figure is instantly recognizable, and still carries the essential 

head trophies. 

A 

hexagonal medallion supplies an innovative frame for a 

similar rendering of a crowned monkey. 

While the motif shares the zigzag profile of the figure 

seen opposite (cat. 226), the depiction is pictorially more 

complex and richer in color. The speckled cream-andbrown 

background (achieved by spinning two shades of wool 

together); the vibrant pink, red, and blue highlights; and the 

small color shifts and striations reflect the visual ideas of an 

imaginative weaver. 

The bold face displays the light-colored muzzle of the yellowtailed 

woolly monkey, a species endemic to the northern 

Peruvian cloud forest (i.e., close to the region where the textile 

was made). This realistic detail is offset by the more fanciful, 

sharply serrated back of the animal, which may be borrowed 

from the iguana-like figures depicted in cats. 224 and 225. 

198

199

228 

Panel from a Tunic or Hanging? 

Standing Personage 

Chimú or North-Central Coast culture, 

Huarmey Valley? 

AD 1000-1476 

Cotton, camelid wool; plain weave, 

supplementary weave (brocade) 

19" x 23" 

This eccentric figure may be anthropomorphic in form, but it is more than human— 

it appears to be an embodiment of an entire cosmological landscape. Standing 

upon a scrolling wave/pelican band or platform, the schematic figure is surrounded by, 

and embedded with, images of the archetypal animals and venerated deities of the north 

coast, as well as innumerable abstract motifs that have the character of cosmic signs or 

symbols. 

The frontal figure, worked in red wool, is strongly outlined against the white cotton 

field, although the puzzling composition makes a visual game of positive/negative and 

foreground/background. His facial features are askew and off-center, but a curious 

tufted hairstyle or feathered headdress is depicted, as are male genitalia (unusually, for 

this tradition). 

The array of animals is representative of different natural and symbolic realms. These 

include the "moon animal" in its incarnation as a coatimundi (see cat. 229), as well as 

snakes, deer, catfish, standing deities and birds (including a composite bird with feline 

tail). 

Serpent Coati Catfish 

200

229 

Band 

Coati/Fox/Feline 

Chimú or North-Central Coast culture, 

Huarmey Valley? 

AD 1000-1476 

Cotton, camelid wool; plain weave, 

supplementary weave (brocade) 

22" x 8" 

The Andean habitats of the ring-tailed coati include enclaves 

of highland tropical forest fringing the upper Lambayeque 

Valley of northern Peru. That ecological zone lies in proximity to 

the regions that were historically occupied by the Recuay, Moche 

and Chimú cultures. Feasibly, that lively, racoon-like animal was as 

much a source of inspiration for the enigmatic motif employed here 

as the fox, feline or monkey, to which it is frequently compared. 

The blocky, geometricized design undoubtedly reflects the 

constraints of the weave technique employed (which also gives a 

very slight relief to the fabric surface). Indeed, the subtle textural 

difference between the white plain-woven ground cloth and the 

red supplementary threads that define the motif help delineate the 

image within this perceptually challenging composition. 

Small stepped diamonds and knots scattered across the animal's 

body (cosmological symbols?) are similar to motifs incorporated 

into a related textile (cat. 228). Some scholars have interpreted 

this “cross" as an ancestral symbol representing the architectural 

layout of the ceremonial space in which the mummy bundle of 

the founder of the Chimú royal lineages was enshrined. 1 In any 

case, it is equally evocative of platforms built within certain types 

of north coast compounds and temples. As thus, the form may 

have carried connotations of sanctity and power. 

1 Luis Cornejo, “A Garden in the Desert: A Metaphor,” in Museo Chileno de Arte 

Precolombino, Chimú: Laberintos de un Traje Sagrado (2005): 51-55. 

202

230 

Fragment from a Tunic? 

Feline with Trophy Head 

Chimú or North-Central Coast culture 

AD 1200-1476 


weave (brocade) 

16½" x 22" 

The age-old Andean artistic and ritualistic theme of the predatory feline with a 

human trophy head is treated in the simplified pictorial style associated with the 

later expressions of north and central coast cultures (Chimú and Chancay). Gone are 

the cryptic metaphors and allusions devised by Wari, Paracas and Chavín artists. But 

this large-scale image has a boldness that speaks across the centuries, conveyed by the 

directness of the feline's gaze. 

Typically, in these late coastal traditions, the cat is drawn with extremely pointed ears 

and angular features. That sharp line is used effectively here, not only to define the ears, 

brows and diamond eyes, but also to accentuate the animal's arched back. This jagged 

line evokes a mountain-scape; it may also describe the raised hackles of an alert and 

aggressive beast. The tightly coiled spiral tale is also a particularly Chimú visual and 

architectural concept. 

The conjunction, symmetry and similarity of the two masklike faces are suggestive. The 

hair dangling from the upside-down human head mirrors the whiskers or markings on 

the cat’s face. That human/feline symbiosis is the fundamental concept of Andean and 

South American shamanism. 

204

205

Most Andean cultures have a predilection for one particular 

weaving or patterning technique over another (for 

example, embroidery in Paracas, interlocking tapestry in Wari and 

slit tapestry in Huarmey). The Chimú specialized in an extremely 

ornamental style of ceremonial and burial dress that was heavily 

textured and layered with decorative tassels, pile and fringes, 

typically dyed a brilliant cochineal red. Entire ensembles of male 

ceremonial costume are known, usually comprising matching 

decorated loincloths, turbans, tunics and/or mantles. 

231 

Pair of Three-Dimensional Tassels from a Garment 

Human Personages 


AD 1100-1476 

Cotton, camelid wool, vegetal fiber?; wrapping, 

looping, knotting, embroidery 

7" x 3" (each) 

Three-dimensional figural tassels and fabric medallions with 

motifs were applied to foundations that were patterned or woven 

in different special techniques, including doublecloth, brocade, 

gauze and slit tapestry. Many of the ground cloths emphasize 

a quality of openwork and transparency that stand in striking 

contrast to their thick superstructures, composed of multiple tiers 

of intricate embellishment. 

This visual complexity, and the resultant bulk of the person 

wearing this type of dress, surely projected immense prestige and 

power. In this cotton-producing region, moreover, the extensive 

use of cochineal, a vibrant colorant that bonds most successfully 

with animal fibers, similarly must have drawn attention to the 

copious amounts of camelid wool incorporated into such textiles. 

As illustrated in this catalogue, the volumetric tassels range in style 

from flat elements, embroidered or worked in supplementary 

techniques to depict faces or entire figures, to three-dimensional, 

costumed figurines like these. The latter, more intricately 

constructed forms, utilize a combination of methods to add 

details and features to the shaped, tubular structures. Although 

fairly schematic in concept, many of these creatively conceived 

figures project unique personalities, while their own tufts, fringes 

and tassels surely imitate the distinctive Chimú style of dress. 

These works of miniature fiber sculpture can be related to 

other coastal art traditions, which also produced textile effigies 

representing human beings and animals, including Nasca and 

Chancay.

232 

Multi-tiered Tassel from a Ceremonial Garment 

Human Figure and Faces 


AD 1100-1476 

Cotton, camelid wool, vegetal material/reed?; 

wrapping, looping, braiding, knotting, embroidery 

13" x 3½" 

There is a playful quality of self-referentiality to many of the Chimú fiber figurines, 

which are laden with multiple tiers of tassels and cut threads, much like the original 

wearers of such complex garments. 

As noted here, myriad small faces may be hidden among the thick cascades of dyed 

threads. 

The idea appears to be the three-dimensional equivalent of a similar concept expressed 

in the Nasca-Sihuas tradition of slit tapestry–woven textiles (cats. 120, 121, 122), where 

a multiplicity of small faces are embedded within complex "proliferous" headdresses, 

imbuing them with animate energy. 

If an Andean ruler is understood as the founder and origin of his people, such faces 

could well embody different generations (both future and past), lineages and descent 

groups (ayllus) or even populations under his control. 

208

209

233 


Scorpion in Moon Headdress 


AD 1000-1476 

Cotton, camelid wool; interlocking and slit tapestry weave, 

wrapping, looping, braiding, knotting, pile, cut threads 

4¾" x 7" 

This unique image pictures the "moon animal" as an anthropomorphic scorpion. 

The nocturnal habits of the species surely associated it with the moon deity and 

the supernatural creatures of the night. 

The vivid motif is animated by wrapped, ribbed dimensional cords that create the thick, 

open pinchers and the poison-laden tail that is usually lifted and curved forward over 

the back. The textural projections convey the impression that the creature is ready to 

strike. 

The two-toned crescent headdress, multiple legs and segmented body are similarly 

embellished with furry, cut and looped threads, as are delicate floral motifs in a slit 

tapestry–woven band below. 

The design’s appealing tactile quality seemingly belies the figure’s more venomous 

attributes. For the scorpion is a consummate underworld character, and indeed, was a 

threatening presence in Early Moche iconography, where it was shown as an aggressive 

warrior in battle scenes. 

210

211

234 

Three-Dimensional Tassel from a Ceremonial Garment 

Face of a Lord or Deity? 

North Coast culture (Chimú? Lambayeque?) 

AD 1000-1476 

Cotton, camelid wool; tapestry weave, fringe 

5¼" x 2" 

This padded, thickly fringed square tassel depicting an 

enigmatic face evinces a rare expressiveness for north 

central coast figuration (especially for the type of the stylized 

motifs decorating the embellishments applied to ceremonial 

garments). 

The weaver made pronounced use of diagonal lines and 

triangular forms, as well as luminous touches of light blue, to 

delineate the wing-shaped eyes, cheeks and brow. The zigzag 

crown evokes cat ears, as well as a type of cone headdress or 

hairstyle seen in north coast portrayals. 

Like the use of cochineal red, the use of indigo is a distinctive 

feature of coastal textile traditions (although the dye is 

particularly associated with cotton fabrics). 

212

235 

Pair of Matching Tabs from a Ceremonial Garment 

Truncated Figures 


AD 1100-1476 

Cotton, camelid wool; supplementary technique 

(embroidery? brocade?), knotting, wrapping, looping 

1½" x 1¾" (5" x 5" including tassels) 

Published 

Anton 1984, fig. 118. 

An eccentric, spindly limbed, big-footed personage depicted in this 

pair of tasseled medallions displays plants with white egg-shaped 

fruits—harvest or fertility symbols—in each hand. The truncated figure 

sports the distinctive long, floppy braids seen on a head in cat. 239. 

A scrolling, wave-patterned band below alludes both to the ocean and 

to the typical decorative friezes adorning coastal architecture. By means 

of such small, virtually indiscernible details the weaver has encapsulated 

the entire Chimú landscape. 

213

236 

Sash with Tassels 

Crowned Birds (Pelicans?) 

North Coast culture (Chimú?) 

AD 1000-1476 


supplementary weft (brocade), wrapping, 

looping, braiding, knotting 

68" x 2" 

Literature 

Rowe 1984, fig. 46. 

Luxurious terminations found at both ends of a long sash 

or turban feature an exceptionally varied combination of 

materials, techniques, patterns and textures. The rich range of 

color stands out within the body of Chimú tassels, tabs and 

other applied decorative materials, which are predominantly 

executed in bright red. 

The irregular sequence and number of colors used for the 

vibrantly striped, plush end cords recall the kind of colorcoding 

employed for the khipu, the classic Andean knot-andstring 

record. 

Despite its strong graphic quality, there is a visual ambiguity to 

the representation of a seabird with an unusual double-blade 

headdress and a similarly angular body. The repetition, rotation 

and color opposition have a kinetic effect, conveying the 

impression that the motif is facing or moving in all directions 

at once (an effect enhanced, perhaps, by the swaying tassels). 

214

237 

Pair of Tassels 

Faces or Figurines 

North Coast or Central Coast cultures 

AD 1100-1476 

Cotton; plain weave, slit tapestry, supplementary weft 

(brocade), embriodery 

4" x 5" 

Although the execution of these tassels from 

two different garments is somewhat unrefined 

(possibly reflecting a lower-status textile), the 

embellishments are nevertheless fashioned with 

an array of decorative techniques. 

The faces similarly project a surprising idiosyncrasy 

and personality—perhaps because their features 

are defined by a raised textural stitch. Each face has 

unique detailing: the tassel shown on the right, for 

example, has an owl or monkey-like countenance, 

due the looping lines around its eyes, while the 

figure on the left has a bright red nose. Both have 

the toothy mouths that signal power and prestige.

238 

Tassel or Figurine 

Fierce Face 

Central Coast culture 

AD 1000-1476 

Cotton, camelid wool; plain weave, looping, 

embroidery? 

6½" x 3¾" 

The elaborately worked textile embellishments applied to 

Chimú ceremonial garments usually depict generic faces 

and figures. However, many such stylized motifs have subtle 

characteristics that communicate a certain individualism—if 

not of the image, then of the weaver artist who conceived and 

executed it. 

For example, the dangling earflaps attached to a comical woven 

face (cat. 239, opposite) may represent ears, hair braids or the 

important crescent headdress displayed by supernatural and 

elite personages. 

Similarly, an unfinished or fragmentary head (which might 

have formed part of a tiered tassel or small fiber figurine) has 

a conspicuous mouth filled with pointed black-and-white 

crocodilian teeth (cat. 238, at left). 

The face shows a striking resemblance to several Chavínera 

images of supernatural beings found on the central coast, 

including a sacred puppet-like effigy with movable limbs that 

may have been used in rituals. 1 Thus what appears to be a 

minor detail on a small decorative object reveals the continuity 

of aesthetic and symbolic ideas in this region. 

1 Richard Burger, “A Sacred Effigy from Mina Perdida and the unseen ceremonies of 

the Peruvian Formative,” Res 33: 18-53. 

216

239 

Tassel from a Belt 

Face with Topknot 

North or Central Coast culture 

AD 1000-1476 

Cotton, camelid wool; tapestry weave? looping 

13" long 

Literature 

Amano Museum 1979a, figs. 1, 63. 

217

240 

Ceremonial Sling (fragmentary) 

Figurine 

Coastal culture (Chimú?) 

AD 1100-1476 

Camelid wool; braiding, wrapping, cross-knit looping 

25" long 

The fiber sling was the basic weapon of the pre-Columbian 

cultures, used in both hunting and warfare. The fancy 

versions found in tombs were, however, made as offerings for 

the dead. 

Constructed with long, tubular patterned cords that may be 

embellished with three-dimensional adornments, these nonutilitarian 

objects acknowledge the important role of warriors, 

or possibly reflect the upsurge of militancy and conflict during 

the Chimú conquest of the north central coast in the 14th 

century. 

The small figurine attached to this ornamental sling is posed 

with its arms upraised in a gesture of veneration. Since the 

weapon was necessarily equated with the taking of life, 

the image ties into the perpetual theme of propitiating the 

ancestors and wakas with blood offerings. 

218

241 

Ceremonial Sling 

Winged Human Figure and Parrot 


AD 1200-1476 

Camelid wool; braiding, cross-knit looping, fringes 

13" long 

Certain ornamental slings decorated with figurative tassels 

apparently served a storytelling purpose as much as a 

ritual or devotional one. 

Each of these examples displays three-dimensional human 

figurines and parrots applied to the ends of beautifully patterned 

cords. The articulated hands, feet, wings and other features of 

these small adornments affirm that no detail or effort was too 

minor or inconsequential for Andean textile artists. 

While the bird imagery makes a sly allusion to one of the most 

common functions of the sling (i.e., catching birds), the human 

figures are presented in different postures that do not suggest 

that they are engaged in hunting or trapping. 

One personage (cat. 242) is portrayed in the same Andean 

attitude of veneration seen in cat. 240. This standardized ritual 

gesture, which was assumed in front of a waka or lord, involved 

raising both arms at an angle and bowing slightly. 

In another sling (see cat. 243), a pair of birds perch on the 

shoulders of two matched figures dressed in black-and-white 

tie-dyed tunics. The naturalism of this portrayal contrasts with 

the more surrealist connotations of the figure attached to 

the sling in cat. 241 (right). In that case, the human character 

has actually metamorphosed into a bird and sprouted wings. 

The theme of supernatural transfiguration underscores the 

repurposed role of these artifacts as burial or votive objects 

rather than utilitarian ones. 

219

220

242 

Ceremonial Sling (far left) 

Winged Personage with Birds 


AD 1200-1476 

Camelid wool; braiding, cross-knit looping, 

fringes 

10" long 

243 

Ceremonial Sling (left) 

Bird-Handlers in Tie-Dye Patterned Shirts 


AD 1200-1476 

Camelid wool; braiding, cross-knit looping 

120" long 

4" long (figure) 

244 

Ceremonial Sling (right) 

Fox and Parrot 

Central Coast culture (Chancay?) 

AD 1100-1470 

Camelid wool; braiding, cross-knit looping 

85" long 

8" long (figure) 

The folkloric character of certain sling adornments is evident in this 

charming juxtaposition of a parrot with a fox and cub. 

Although this object was fabricated several centuries before the first myths 

from the central Andes were transcribed by early Spanish colonialists, the 

imagery on this sling relates to one of the best-known fables from the 

region. 

That story, which recounts how a cosmic fox traveled to the upper world 

on the back of a condor to attend a celestial banquet, is associated with 

origins of the major cultivated foods. 

According to legend, the great condor refused to carry the gluttonous fox 

back to earth. Instead, the fox braided a long rope, but while descending 

encountered some parrots who pecked his rope apart. Plunging to earth, 

the body of the fox burst and scattered the seeds, roots and fruits that 

become the staple crops (corn, potato, quinoa) of the Andean peoples. 

221

245 

Votive Figure (left) 

Monkey 


AD 1100-1476 

Camelid wool; cross-knit looping 

2½" high 

Monkeys have magical and supernatural connotations in Andean 

iconography. Many human figures (especially shamans and 

supernaturals) borrow the simian’s most conspicuous features (brow, eyes, 

feet, tail), and monkeys also serve as stand-ins for trophy headhunters and 

ritualists. 

This miniscule representation of a spider or woolly monkey eating fruit 

is quite realistic, on the other hand, capturing the lanky physique and 

prehensile tail of the species with charming accuracy. 

222

246 

Votive Figures (oppoosite left and right) 

Andean Foxes 


AD 1100-1476 

Camelid wool; cross-knit looping 

2½" high (each) 

The mottled patterning of these miniature foxes reflects the mixture of silvery blacks 

and tawny reds seen on the Andean fox. But it is the animal’s black-tipped tail that 

specifically identifies it as the zorro sechura, a species of fox adapted to the northern 

coastal desert of Peru. 

Andean folklore offers an interesting reason for this detail, claiming that the animal 

acquired its distinctive brush during a great primordial flood. According to legend, a 

mythic fox taking sanctuary on a mountain peak let its tail dangle in the rising waters, 

so that it turned black and putrid. This symbolic association of fox and water is reflected 

in several other Andean myths, including one explaining the origin of irrigation canals. 

Indeed, the animal played a variety of roles in coastal and highland traditions. For 

example, the fox was revered as an effigy and oracle by the cultures surrounding the 

ancient temple of Pachacamac. 

During the Inka period, the fox was also regarded as a guardian of the fields, as well as 

an omen of rain and successful harvests. The canid also had a celestial presence as one of 

the "dark cloud" animal constellations perceived in the Milky Way. Surely some aspect 

of this rich cultural symbolism was evoked by these small fiber sculptures, which may 

have been made as votive offerings or as embellishments for ceremonial slings. 

223

247 

Textile Figurines 

Family Group with Parrots 

Central or North Coast culture (Chimú) 

1100-1476 AD 

Camelid wool, cotton; cross-knit looping, 

embroidery, applied unspun fiber 

Various dimensions (largest 7" high) 

Pre-Columbian iconography focuses principally on representations of extraordinary 

beings, particularly supernatural personages and magical or symbolic creatures. 

Portrayals of ordinary or real individuals––such as this lively, multigenerational family 

group––are found infrequently, and even then, surely served some symbolic or illustrative 

purpose. 

The tradition of sculptural textile figures may have emerged out of the production 

of shaped pottery vessels modeled in human and animal forms. Indeed, this textile 

grouping is thematically related to a singular earlier Nasca-era figurative clay model 

discovered and published by the famous Peruvian archaeologist Julio Tello. 1 That 

multifigure tableau consists similarly of a family procession (man, woman, children) 

accompanied by birds and dogs. 

However, in the Tello scene, only the female figures are depicted carrying parrots (perhaps 

because those birds were especially associated with women healers and shamans). But 

all members of this assemblage are shown cradling the birds, except for the male, who 

tenderly carries a young child. The solicitous manner in which each figure holds its 

cargo is palpable, injecting a humanistic note into the otherwise stylized characters who 

are virtually identical in dress and features (apart from the female’s fleecy white skirt). 

Even though they are separated by culture, distance and medium, the two works have 

a visual-symbolic resonance that suggests that they commemorate a similar theme— 

possibly a story from folklore, or else a particular ritual or pilgrimage involving the 

participation of entire family groups. 

1 The pottery scene is also published in Helaine Silverman and Donald Proulx, The Nasca (2002): frontispiece, chapter 1. 

224

225

248 

Textile Figurine 

Man with Coatimundi 

Central or North Coast culture (Chimú) 

AD 1100-1476 

Cotton, camelid wool; cross-knit looping, embroidery 

6" high 

This unique and appealing portrayal of a man with a pet coati clambering over his 

shoulder is clearly related to the assemblage of figures shown in cat. 247. It is likely 

that all these figurines were fabricated by the same hand (or workshop) or for the same 

purpose. 

The character’s physical features and attire (including the bright white zigzag around the 

waist and headdress) are identical in style to those of the family group. 

In the Tello tableau cited above, the personages are accompanied by dogs. Seemingly 

that role is adapted here to refer to a more unusual animal, the ring-tailed coati (Nasua 

nasua), which often appears in north coast iconography. 

These small mammals were native to the jungle and higher cloud forest regions of 

north central Peru. But coatis were clearly regarded as exotic, magical creatures by 

coastal peoples. And as this image indicates, they may have been kept as pets, or for some 

unknown role in divination or shamanic rituals. The Campa people of the Peruvian 

montaña, for example, call coatis "the dogs of the jaguar shamans." 1 

1 Nicholas Saunders, “Architecture of Symbolism: The Feline Image,” in Icons of Power: Feline Symbolism in the Americas 

(1998): 200. 

226

227

228

249 


Warrior with Helmet and Sling 

North or Central Coast culture (probably Chimú) 

AD 1000-1476 

Camelid wool; cross-knit looping? weft-face weave? 

embroidery, twisting 

5½" high 

The cultural and artistic overlaps between north and central coast cultures 

(especially under Chimú rule) complicate any definitive cultural attribution for 

this textile sculpture. Many distinct cultural traditions, which coexisted in the 

multiple river valleys crossing the central coast, have been subsumed—incorrectly or 

not—under the label "Chancay." 

However, the technique and overall style of this figure deviate from the well-known 

(and highly consistent) Chancay tradition. The projecting nose and embroidered blackand-white 

mouth, for example, are similar to features noted in cats. 247 and 248. 

The style of the headdress also suggests strongly that the figure originates among one of 

the more northerly societies. Coupled with the sling or rope, this conical helmet (with a 

chin strap) may identify a warrior from a specific ethnic group. Similarly, the large-scale 

step-pattern design of his tunic would appear to be another signifier of role or regional 

origin. 

229

250 


Woman with Face Decoration 

Chancay culture 

AD 1000-1476 

Cotton, camelid wool, reed; interlocking 

and slit tapestry weave, wrapping 

10 ½" high 

Literature 

Amano Museum 1979a, 199, figs. 230–233. 

Stone-Miller 1992b, 156-157. 

Although the practice of fashioning soft figurative 

sculptures from a variety of textile materials was broadly 

established among coastal Andean cultures, the tradition was 

especially abundant among the Chancay. 

The miniature cloth and fiber objects include representations 

of human beings, llamas, birds and even plants and trees. 

Costumed male and female figures are sometimes portrayed 

engaging in activities such as weaving and rafting, or as part 

of multifigure marriage and ceremonial scenes. Despite having 

been tagged with the earlier misnomer “dolls" (spurring a 

cottage industry of modern replicas), these appealing figures are, 

however, better understood as being part of a long continuum 

of human effigies and votives crafted out of clay, gold, silver, 

shell and wood, and associated with fertility, shamanic rites, 

mountain worship and ancestral cults. 

Individual textile figurines have been found in numerous 

Chancay tombs, interleaved between the layers of fabric 

composing mummy bundles. Some offerings are presented 

on stuffed "cushions." The figures and tableaux seemingly 

commemorate ordinary people—either members of the family 

or ayllu, or the deceased themselves. 

This figure is illustrative of the way most Chancay figures 

are fabricated. The body, limbs and articulated hands and feet 

consist of reeds or sticks wrapped with pink yarn. Twisted 

camelid wool is used for the hair or wig, while the face is 

made from a small tapestry-woven panel. Miniature customsized 

garments and headcloths emulate Chancay styles of dress 

(and, in fact, supply useful information about it). 

While this female personage conforms to type, she has a 

particularly poignant visage, decorated with standard yellow, 

pink and red zigzag step designs (face paint or tattooing?). Her 

long, scroll-patterned dress or wrapper (possibly a modern recreation) 

is consistent with Andean female attire. 

230

231

251 

Textile Figurine (unfinished or fragmentary) 


AD 1000-1476 

Camelid wool, reed?; knotting, twisting, wrapping 

6" high 

This enigmatic, featureless object, which was either damaged 

or left unfinished, reveals exactly how such figurines were 

constructed. (The process is usually concealed by the figures’ 

outer garments.) 

The limbs appear to have a fiber or reed core, which was 

wrapped with alternating bands of dyed thread. The torso and 

head are composed of knotted and wrapped yarns (possibly 

applied over a spool or piece of wood). 

232

252 


Man in Striped Tunic 


AD 1000-1476 

Cotton, camelid wool, reed?; plain weave, warp 

stripe weave, wrapping, looping, twisting 

10" high 

Perhaps inadvertently, this animated male effigy projects 

a sense of lively character or individuality. Possibly that 

quality of personability was easier to convey with the freehand 

stitching used for his features, rather than with the tapestry 

weave that yields the static, masklike faces seen in more 

conventional Chancay figures. 

Scholars always note the meticulous attention paid to the 

miniature garments worn by these figural sculptures. This 

ensemble includes a blue and tan warp-striped unku (or long 

sleeveless tunic) as well as a matching headband and finely 

ribbed, tasseled sash. 

233

253 

Ornamental Pin (right) 

Wari-influenced North Coast culture (Chimú?) 

Circa AD 1000? 

Bone, camelid wool; cross-knit looping, embroidery 

11" long (cord 5") 

254 

Tasseled Sash (left) 

Wari-influenced North Coast culture (Chimú?) 


Camelid wool; weft-face weave (knitting?), embroidery 

20" high 

Although provenience information is lacking, the evident 

similarities between these two objects (in terms of 

material, coloration and design) strongly indicate that they 

are from the same mummy bundle or cemetery. Indeed, they 

appear to have been produced by the same hand or workshop. 

The fanciful and beautifully detailed pin (cat.253), with its 

bifurcated tassel, may have been used to secure a fabric turban, 

headband or other type of cloth or garment. (It also resembles 

a weaving implement.) 

Identical stylized faces are repeated in the tassel of the colorful 

matching belt or tie (cat. 254). A three-dimensional nose lends 

a jaunty air to what is more likely a representation of a trophy 

head or spirit. 

Figurative patterning, compressed and repeated along the narrow 

length of the finely executed sash, juxtaposes a zoomorphic 

motif (snake/feline) with the upper body of a schematic 

figure in the veneration pose. Wari aesthetic influence can be 

detected in the modular geometry and beautiful abstraction of 

the design. 

234

255 

Pin or Adornment for a Headdress or Textile 

Hummingbirds 


AD 1000-1476 

Wood or cactus spine, camelid wool; 

cross-knit looping, wrapping, braiding 

6" (figures 3") 

Literature 

Schmidt 1929, 525. 

A 

pair of hummingbirds, perched atop a pin wrapped with 

decorative knitting or looping, is wonderfully vivacious, with 

their tilted heads and needlelike beaks fashioned from slivers of 

wood or cactus spine. 

235

256 

Three-Dimensional Textile Adornment 

Flowering Tree with Nesting Birds 


AD 1000-1476 

Camelid wool; wrapping, looping, 

knotting, embroidery 

12" x 5½" 

Literature 

Taullard 1949, 58. 


Several of the most intricate known Chimú textiles, which are richly worked 

with assemblages of tassels, medallions, volumetric ornaments and fringes, feature 

agricultural and plant imagery. This is a common theme in Andean iconography, of 

course. But generally the focus is on the edible fruits, roots, seeds and beans, rather than 

on an entire tree or shrub, as in this elaborate tassel. 

With charming naturalism, a fruiting plant is represented in three simultaneous stages of 

bloom. The branches are laden with shaped elements depicting the flower bud emerging 

from the corolla, the open flower and the mature or ripening fruit. Flat oval motifs 

possibly depict lucuma (egg fruit), a Peruvian native. A couple of toucans or parrots (a 

mating pair?) are shown nesting at the top of the tree. 

In fact, the combination of motifs evokes a fertility myth told in the central highlands, 

which was recorded in the 17th-century Huarochirí Manuscript. In it, the Andean 

creator god Cuniraya is said to have been rebuffed by the weaver Cavillaca. But the deity 

seduced and impregnated her anyway by transforming himself into a bird perched in a 

lucuma tree, and dropping his seed into its globular orange fruit, which Cavillaca picked 

and ate. 

Whether or not the myth was already known to the Chimú as well, this entire emblem 

can be regarded as an icon of fertility. 

236

237

257 

Textile Pendant 

Splayed Frogs or Toads 

North-Central Coast culture (Chimú?) 

AD 1000-1400 

Camelid wool, cactus needles; chain stich embroidery, 

braiding, knotting, wrapping, cut threads 

10" x 6" 

Literature 


A 

stone monolith from Khonko, a very early ceremonial 

site located south of Tiwanaku that played a part in the 

evolution of highland culture, portrays a winged llama. 1 But 

how such an extraordinary image might have resurfaced in 

a woven textile ornament from a Wari coastal tradition is an 

intriguing question. Perhaps the weaver was a transplant from 

the highlands? Did oral tradition or mythology have a role? 

A wing is clearly a metaphor for flight, although it could also 

be a means of alluding to the Yakana llama constellation that 

was perceived in the southern sky. 

This ambiguous animal/bird hybrid may also express the 

common Andean analogy that equates fleece and plumage. Not 

only were both materials used to create valuable textiles, birds 

supplied Andean herders with a fount of names for describing 

the variegated colors and markings of llamas and alpacas. 

The figure is rendered with a minimum of parallel vertical 

and horizontal bars, tipped at the ends to indicate feet, mouth 

and feathers. The most conspicuous decorative elements are 

the sharp cactus spines appended the to finely worked tubular 

cords. 

1 John Wayne Janusek, Ancient Tiwanaku (2008): 103, fig. 3.19. 

238

258 

Textile Pendant 

Llama? 

Wari-related culture, North or Central Coast? 


Camelid wool, cactus spines; weft-face weave, 

braiding 

9" x 2" 

Eccentric undulating lines and a watery quality artfully 

evoke the aquatic domain of an amphibian being. The 

composition and color palette are unique among the body of 

Chimú figurative tassels, which tend toward the conventional 

or schematic human face and figure. 

The anthropomorphic splayed form evokes the squatting 

ancestor figure that is a universal icon linked with female 

power and lineages. Amazonian myths, for example, tell of an 

ancient frog woman, the mistress of rain and poison, who lives 

inside a tree. 

In Andean contexts, toads and frogs symbolize both liquidity 

and metamorphosis. Highlanders interpret the seasonal 

presence of the toad, as well as its variety of sounds and colors, 

to make crop and weather predictions. 1 On the coast, an 

unusual explosion in local toad populations usually announces 

the arrival of an El Niño weather and ocean pattern, which can 

unleash torrential floods and rains. Several devastating, historic 

El Niño events are associated with the destruction and decline 

of many north coast cultures, such as the Moche. 

Toads may also have additional symbolic connotations. One 

species, the notorious giant toad Bufo marinus (endemic to the 

north coast), secretes a powerful toxic compound that incites 

the kind of psychic or hallucinatory experiences (trances, 

visions, paralysis, deathlike states), that are intrinsic to shamanic 

rituals across South America. 


239

259 

Fragment from a Tunic (left, bottom) 

Staffbearer 

North Coast culture (Huarmey style) 

AD 1000-1476 

Camelid wool; tapestry 

3¾" x 2½" 

The conventional standing staff-bearer (of Wari parentage) 

is given a novel treatment by being compressed into a 

frog-like being with webbed feet. 

An oval motif (navel? pectoral?) set within the truncated torso 

suggests a wide-open mouth, generating a secondary enlarged 

face. 

260 

Miniature Pouch (above) 

Anthropomorphic Toad or Frog 


AD 1000-1476 

Cotton, camelid wool; complementary 

weft weave? brocade? 

3" x 4¼" 

Literature 

Rowe 1977, 44, fig. 44a. 

As noted in many historical accounts, toads had an ominous 

aspect in addition to their more positive role in heralding 

the arrival of rain. The indigenous Chronicler Huamán Poma, 

for example, spoke of sorcerers fashioning toad fetishes and 

using toad or snake venom to kill people. 

Perhaps such connotations were evoked by this linearstyle 

anthropomorphic frog, whose posture is a twist on the 

traditional Andean gesture of awe and veneration. 

240

261 

Fragment from a Woman’s Shawl? 

Anthropomorphic Frog 

Ica style, South Coast 

AD 1300-1476 


6" x 9½" 

Another image of a squatting, frog-like being with upraised arms 

and an awestruck expression is explored in terms of the visual 

interaction between positive and negative, dark and light, blue and 

yellow, geometry and figuration. 

The fragment is related to, or may originally have been part of, a 

woman's shawl from Ica (now in the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford). 

That shawl was published by Ann Pollard Rowe, who suggests that the 

design, with its strong black diagonal outlines, has assimilated foreign 

influence, most likely from the north (Chincha or Chancay). 1 

1 Ann Pollard Rowe, "Ica Style Woman's Dress,” Textile Museum Journal 40/41 (2001-2002): fig. 30. 

241

262 

Band from a Garment 

Bird with Hooked Beak 

Central Coast culture (Chancay) 

AD 1200-1476 


3½" x 8" 

The visual and symbolic cohesiveness of Andean textile 

design is demonstrated by the way this pair of mythical 

birds with ostentatious feather combs is echoed within 

the contours of the step-and-spiral frame. A subtly striated 

background, woven in golden tones, supplies a luminous 

backdrop for the colorful and sharply defined motifs. 

The conventional cresting wave–pattern band reads 

simultaneously as a row of interlocking seabirds. Collectively, 

the design projects one elemental concept—the ocean. 

This crested bird (or related versions) was a familiar figure 

among the marine symbology painted and carved on the walls 

of temples and palaces constructed on the central and north 

coast, from Pachacamac to the Moche Valley. 

This image potentially alludes to several local species of birds 

(both resident and migratory), which flaunt crests, bristles, 

erectile crowns or ornamental plumes dangling behind their 

necks. These include the Guanay cormorant, a crested duck 

(Anas specularioides) and various types of herons, such as the 

night heron (Niycticorax nycticorax). 

Although some is fairly inconspicuous, this decorative plumage 

was seemingly regarded as analogous to the spectacular feathered 

crowns and headdresses worn as emblems of supreme status by 

the most elite persons in Chimú and Chancay society. 

242

263 

Panel from a Loincloth? 

Crested Birds 


AD 1200-1476 

Cotton, camelid wool?; plain weave, slit tapestry 

weave, twisted fringe 

12" x 6" 

Literature 

Stone-Miller 1992b, 148-149, plate 50. 

243

Imagery from assorted textiles offers a glimpse of the variety 

of birds depicted by—and evidently significant to—coastal 

peoples. 

Despite the artistic stylization and the sometimes selective use, 

or interspecies mix, of details, each motif is endowed with traits 

that clearly refer to specific birds associated with particular 

habitats or ecological zones along the Peruvian coast. 

264 


Stocky Bird (Heron, Egret, Burrowing Owl?) 

Central Coast culture (Chancay) 

AD 1000-1476 


7" x 17" 

The imagery ranges in its degree of realism. An angular, graphic 

black-and-white motif repeated in cat. 265 possibly represents 

a pelican, although, incongruously, the bird grasps a lizard in its 

bill—prey more suited to a land bird than to waterfowl. Pelicans 

do feature abundantly in Chimú iconography and mythology, 

and the bird’s extended beak and neck pouch seemingly derive 

from that common species. The serrated, triangular headdress 

may acknowledge the bird’s plumage—or refer to the plumed 

crown or headdress worn by important Chimú personages. 

A stocky bird depicted in cat. 264 is equally ambiguous, 

although more naturalistic in form. Its hunched but upright 

stance describes the body shape or hunting posture of several 

endemic species, including a heron, egret or burrowing owl. 

265 


Birds (Pelicans?) with Lizards 

North Coast culture (Chimú) 

AD 1000-1476 

Cotton; brocade 

7½" x 16" 

Literature 


244

The gregarious parrots and parakeets, which exhibit such eminently human traits as 

sociability and talkativeness, are well represented in coastal textile and mural art. 

266 

Band from a Shirt? 

Blue-and-Yellow Macaws 

North or Central Coast culture (probably Chimú) 

AD 1000-1476 


5" x 14½" 

Certain species—notably several macaws—were exotic specimens traded from the 

Amazonian forest and kept in captivity (thus supplying a ready source for their prized 

feathers). Others, like the green mountain parakeets, reside in western Peru. 

Highly esteemed for aesthetic purposes, the vivid parrot feathers were woven into 

majestic garments and items of regalia. The shimmering rainbow hues surely evoked 

solar radiance and sacred power. 

The striking black-and-white bands and rings accentuating the eyes of the blue-andyellow 

macaw are instantly recognizable in this somewhat clumsily rendered motif. 

In fact, the macaw’s distinctive markings and coloration seem to have influenced the 

overall composition, which is organized in an unusual lattice arrangement with white 

rectangles on a black background. This extensive use of black is itself rare, and indicates 

Chimú provenience. 

245

267 

Painted Frieze 

Interlocking Figuration 


AD 1000-1476 

Cotton; plain weave painted with iron oxide dyes 

12" x 6¼" 

Many of the stylized birds represented in north and central 

coast textile imagery feature the parrot's concentric 

eyes; short, hooked bill; and long, tapering tail. 

Although they share a two-toned brown-and-tan color scheme, 

these two interpretations of the motif are executed in distinct 

techniques and modes—woven doublecloth and painting— 

that are characteristic of later-phase Chancay textile traditions. 

The consistency of the painted line in cat. 267 (left) suggests 

the use of a stencil. 

Such figural designs either derived from or inspired and 

influenced architectural friezes sculpted with interlocking 

rows of stylized waves, seabirds, parrots, fish, manta rays and 

other marine iconography. 

In a conceptual play on its doublecloth structure, cat. 268 

(opposite) deftly works in a double entendre. When the cloth 

is rotated sideways, the parrots turn into small quadrupeds. 

possibly llama or deer (see detail at right). 

246

268 

Panel 

Parrots/Deer 


AD 1000-1476 

Cotton; doublecloth 

13" x 6" 

247

270 

Motif from a Mantle or Hanging? 

Oystercatcher 


Circa AD 1300 

Cotton, camelid wool; plain weave, embroidery 

6" x 7" 

269 


Stilt 


Circa AD 1300 

Cotton, camelid wool; plain weave, embroidery 

7" x 8½" 

Literature 


Anton 1984, fig. 37. 

Although these embroidered motifs are very 

similar, subtle differences in the lengths and 

curves of the birds’ red bills and legs identify two 

different types of shorebird—Haematopus palliatus and 

Phoenicopterus chilensis. Both species are commonly 

seen beachcombers along the coastal mudflats, 

lagoons and beaches of the Pacific coast. 

The birds’ instantly recognizable, striking, blackand-white 

plumage and ringed eyes are realistically 

represented. But this naturalism is tempered by the 

more puzzling inclusion of flamingo-like pink and 

yellow tail feathers. That detail is noteworthy, because 

although the south coast of Peru is home to huge 

colonies of flamingos, that bird is rarely represented 

in imagery (even though its pink-tinged feathers 

were frequently used for regalia). 

248

272 

Motif from a Mantle or Tunic 

Flying Bird (Parrot? Raptor?) 


Circa AD 1300 

Camelid wool; embroidery 

4½" x 7½" 

It is likely that Chancay embroiderers had a specific species in mind for each of these 

motifs—and that despite their stylistic similarities, an ancient audience might have 

been able to differentiate the birds based on their silhouettes, beaks and tail feathers. 

While such knowledge is not available to modern viewers, we can appreciate the 

liveliness and character of these figures, which probably embellished cotton textiles of 

various sorts. 

Cultural distinctions are also difficult to establish, but the dimensional wrapped and 

tufted cords enhancing the wings of the parrot-like birds in cat. 273 recall the textural 

Chimú style. 

250

271 

Motif from a Mantle or Tunic 

Flying Bird (Waterfowl?) 


Circa AD 1300 


8½"x 4" 

273 

Motifs from a Mantle or Tunic 

Flying Birds (Parrots?) 

Chimú or Chancay culture 

Circa AD 1300 

Camelid wool; coiling, looping, embroidery 

4½" x 6" (each) 

Literature 


251

275 

Motifs from a Mantle or Tunic 

Flying Birds (Swift?) 


Circa AD 1300 


3½" x 2" 

The naturally lithe, sleek proportions of the bird 

(possibly a swift) are subjected to a graphic 

angularity that stresses the decorative value of the 

motif rather than the realistic reference. 

274 

Tassel on Tubular Cord (Sling?) 

Bird in a Nest 


AD 1200-1476 

Cotton, camelid wool; wrapping, braiding 

7" long 

252

276 

Votive Figurine 

Scarlet Macaw 

Central or South Coast culture 

AD 1300-1476? 

Cotton, camelid wool? plant fiber?; plain weave, 

cut threads, embroidery 

2½" x 8" 

Mummified parrots have been found in several 

ancient cemeteries on the south coast. This 

fiber sculpture, wrapped in the striking blue, yellow 

and red hues of the scarlet macaw, may have been a 

votive offering to a venerated ancestor, or an artistic 

substitution for the real bird. 

277 

Votive Figurine 

Mealy Parrot? Nighthawk? 

Central Coast culture 

AD 1000-1476 

Camelid wool; cross-knit looping? 

3" long 

253

278 

Votive Sculpture 

Water Bird (Duck?) 


AD 1300-1476? 

Applied feathers, cotton, balsa wood 

4" long 

This exquisite naturalistic depiction of a waterfowl reflects the 

mythic and sacred status of birds in pre-Columbian culture and 

their association with the ocean and its patron deities, especially for 

coastal societies. 

The black crown and nape, the rusty plumage on the back and the 

blue marking on the bill suggest a kind of duck. And while the 

turquoise blue feathers applied to the chest may not come from the 

actual bird being represented (but from a tanager, Amazonian parrot 

or other colorful species), they endow the object with extraordinary 

luminosity. 

254

279 

Adornment for a Feathered Crown or Headdress 

Warrior in Conical Helmet 


AD 1300-1476 

Cut and glued macaw and parrot feathers 

3½" x 2" 

Literature 


280 

Adornments for a Feathered Crown or Headdress 

Stylized Faces 


AD 1300-1476 

Cut and glued macaw and parrot feathers 

3" x 1" 

Brilliantly iridescent tunics, tabards, headdresses, ear spools 

and other regalia adorned with featherwork designs were 

among the most luxurious and prestigious items of dress 

created for the Chimor and Chancay elite. 

These tiny mosaic faces, executed with finely cut, multicolored 

feathers, probably once topped elaborate plumed headdresses 

or crowns placed over the "false heads" of important mummy 

bundles. Feathered crests were also affixed to the large ceramic 

male and female effigies for which the Chancay culture is 

famous. 

The two vibrant figurative ornaments in cat. 280 were possibly 

originally attached to the same object, but their distinct colors 

and features (rounded or square eyes and mouth) yield a variety 

of facial expressions, which are generally absent from the static 

visages common to Chancay figuration. The Chimú head 

(above) wears a distinctive type of conical helmet, possibly 

associated with warriors. 

255

281 

Band 

Feather Emblems 


AD 1300-1476 


1¾" x 60" 

Featherwork garments and insignia were among the most magnificent works 

of art and ceremonial dress produced by pre-Columbian cultures. 

The talismanic status and symbolic value of the feather—as an emblem of solar 

radiance, the celestial realm and magical flight—are reflected in this design from 

a Chancay tunic, which was clearly woven in tribute to that esteemed material. 

256

282 


Bird Handler with Captive Birds 


AD 1300-1476 


4½" x 4½" 

Andean people trapped, bred and kept many kinds of birds captive—not solely as sources of 

food, but also for religious sacrifices as well as for ritual and aesthetic purposes. Prime among 

these were birds with striking plumage such as the Muscovy duck and the macaw parrots, whose 

feathers were plucked to adorn ceremonial textiles and artifacts. 

Unlike most individuals portrayed in Andean iconography, who usually project elevated or 

supernatural status, the Bird Keeper depicted here is clearly of ordinary rank. Nevertheless he wears 

a tie-dyed, patterned shirt and headband, and his role must have been sufficiently important to 

Chancay society to merit being recorded in a textile design. 

The brown-and-white color scheme is typical of the Chancay aesthetic, which exploited the graphic 

possibilities of contrasting undyed or naturally colored cotton yarns as much as those achieved with 

more vivid colors. 

257

283 


Pampas Cat? 


Circa AD 1300 

Camelid wool; plain weave, embroidery 

6½" x 8" 

The intimidating feline that dominated pre-Columbian 

symbolism, furnishing its most potent analogy for human 

aggression and warrior energy, has been transmuted here into 

a more docile version (perhaps the pampas cat found near 

the coast?) with extravagant curlicue whiskers to replace the 

fearsome fang. 

258

284 

Design Square from a Garment 

Feline with Exaggerated Jaw 

Central Coast culture (Chimú?) 

AD 1300-1476 

Camelid wool; plain weave, 

supplementary weft 

5½" x 6" 

The conventionalized figuration common in late central and north central coast art 

styles seemingly left little room for artistic license. But this a truly idiosyncratic 

interpretation of a familiar motif—the mythical "moon animal"—set within a geometric 

frame that recalls the painted checkerboard murals and wall niches adorning ceremonial 

buildings. 

Dominated by an outsized serrated jaw and giant paws, the animal is at its most feline 

(and reads best) in a horizontal plane. From the vertical point of view, however, it 

strongly resembles the seated, crowned supernatural creature who variously mixes coati, 

monkey, feline and even crocodilian attributes, and is a dominant presence in north 

coast visual mythology and textile design (see cats. 224, 229). 

259

285 


Spotted Cat and Labyrinth 


AD 1300-1476 

Cotton; painted, resist-dyeing 

10" x 13" 

The cartoonlike or diagrammatic style of this imagery does not detract from its dramatic 

theme, which sets the marauding spotted cat outside a labyrinthine structure that may 

symbolize a ritual temple or palace. 

The figuration is rendered with clarity, combining freehand (or possibly stenciled) painted 

motifs with resist-dyed patterning. Similar circles embellish both the curvaceous, bat-eared 

feline and the angular abstract form, lending a surprising sophistication and visual cohesiveness 

to the composition. 

260 

Thematically, too, the way the circular heads of the pouncing cat and the birdlike human figure 

intersect expresses the kind of complementarity ingrained in Andean thought. This dualism is 

implicit not only in the opposition between animal and human, cat and bird, and predator and 

prey, but also in the contrast between nature (“the wild") and culture (the ritual or sacred space 

where human sacrifices were enacted). And as always, the sacrificing cat serves as a metaphor 

for human activity.

286 


Monkey Personage with Birds 


AD 1300-1476 

Cotton; painting 

4" x 9½" 

Although the Chancay style represents the final flowering of a 2000-year-long tradition of 

textile painting on the central and south coasts that began during the Chavín epoch, the 

iconography rarely displays the visual intricacy or symbolic complexity of that very ancient 

material. 

The motifs replicated on this painted, fringed tunic border indicate the use of a stamp or 

template. Yet the design is fairly complex, executed with dynamic curving lines that evoke a 

sense of fluidity and exuberant energy. In a lively and playful pairing, a monkey-tailed personage 

with an elaborate, multipart headdress is linked to the stylized bird that appears in numerous 

Chimú and Chancay contexts. Flying pelicans and fish establish the marine setting. 

261

287 

Panel from a Fringed Tunic 

Monkeys 


AD 1300-1476 

Cotton, camelid wool; tapestry weave, selvedged and fringed 

17¼" x 13½" 

Pre-Columbian cultures were familiar with numerous species of monkey. Although 

the primate was not native to coastal habitats, the icon entered the pictorial repertoire 

in very early periods as a preeminent symbol of supernatural status, exuberant vitality 

and fertility. 

The distinct physical attributes of certain species (such as the heart-shaped brow of 

the capuchin or the lanky limbs and tail of the spider monkey) are recognizable in 

numerous depictions. But the small repeat motif woven into this tunic has become 

conventionalized and primarily decorative. It is arranged facing opposite directions in 

alternating rows. The bright white cotton used to highlight different elements (limbs, 

tails, heads, mouths, eyes) creates an erratic but rhythmic pattern that subverts the 

regularity and uniformity of the overall design. 

The layout, the coloration (yellow tones modified by red, brown and ochre) and the 

stripe-and-bird patterned, fringed border are all characteristic of the style. 

262

288 

Three-Dimensional Votive Effigy or Puppet 

Llama with Condor Markings 

Central or South Coast culture 

AD 1000-1476? 

Camelid wool; cross-knit looping, twisting 

11½" long 

Andean ritual art and iconography reflects widespread religious practices involving 

the sacrifice of llamas to the divinities and ancestors. 

Painted pottery sculpted in the form of llama or camelid heads was produced by various 

cultures (including Wari). These ceramics were dedicated as offerings or used as vessels 

for substances (such as llama fat) that were burnt during rites of veneration. During the 

Inka period, miniature stone sculptures representing alpacas and llamas with long fleecy 

manes (conopas) were featured in ceremonies devoted to increasing animal fertility and 

the size of the herds. Such votive objects contained cavities that could be packed with 

sacred ashes for propitiating the cosmic powers. 

This engaging knitted figure may be a textile version of that sort of figure. The tubular 

hollow form was left open at one end, allowing it to be worn as a glove or hand puppet. 

Was this expressive object indeed animated in some fashion? Perhaps it played a role 

during a ceremony or a dramatic enactment of a story or myth. 

Andean people also have a precise system for the classification and naming of the 

camelids’ varied colors and patterning. Based on that well-documented and historic 

tradition, this woven object can be identified as an allqa llama or alpaca, so named for 

its sharply contrasting dark and light patches, which allude to the falcon's plumage. A 

white collar or band around the figure’s neck, which similarly mimics the condor's ruff, 

extends the avian comparison. 

As is still the custom today among the pastoralists of the Andean highlands, the animal’s 

ears are adorned with decorative tufts of colored wool. 

264

265

289 

Three-Dimensional Animal Figurines 

Llamas or Alpacas Eating Grass 


AD 1000-1476 

Cotton, camelid wool, vegetal stuffing or wood core; 

plain weave, embroidery, wrapping, twisting 

8½’" x 14" (left) 

4" x 12" (right) 

Literature 


Brugnoli, Sinclaire and Hoces de la Guardia 2007, 82. 

A 

pair of charming textile sculptures conveys the sense of the devotion (even affection) 

that Andean herders feel for their flocks of llamas and alpacas. These domesticated 

animals came to fulfill so many essential human needs—from food and clothing to 

transporting cargo across vast distances. 

The two figures were fabricated by wrapping a fiber core with undyed woven fabric. 

Variegated markings are indicated with white stitching. 

The red and yellow tassels bedecking the larger figure allude to Andean customs of 

marking the animals’ ears with colorful pompoms and dyed threads during the annual 

Señalakuy or Wayñu fertility rites. The vivid red yarns evoke the llama blood that was 

shed and offered to the earth during the ceremony. This so-called "flowering" of the 

livestock symbolizes the increase and abundance of the herds. 

A smaller figure (perhaps representing a calf) is shown tethered and grazing on a mouthful 

of green grass. The image introduces an everyday occurrence into an iconographic 

tradition that primarily focused on ritual or supernatural activities. 

266

267

290 

Motifs for a Garment 

Camelids 

Chancay or Chimú culture 

AD 1000-1476 

Camelid wool; embroidery or knitting 

4"–5" x 6" (each) 

The camelids have the smaller, delicate proportions of a young llama or the smaller 

vicuña. Each motif is embellished with oversized concentric eyes and a unique 

configuration of diagonal lines. The individuated figures were probably applied to a 

ceremonial or funerary garment. 

Although the combination of colors reflects the artist’s imagination and not nature, the 

variety of patterns does reveal Andean ideas about camelid markings. 

The domesticated alpacas and llamas, as well as the wild vicuñas, were categorized 

by patterning and coloration. The complex system of classification and color-coding, 

which reached its epitome during the Inka period, dictated which types of camelids 

were to be sacrificed during specific rituals and calendrical periods. 

268

291 


A Field of Brocket Deer 

Pachacamac or Rímac culture, Central Coast 

AD 1000-1476 


11" x 18½" 

Textiles produced by the Chimú and Chancay cultures over several centuries 

preceding the Inka domination of the coast exhibit a process of standardization 

and simplification. 

Icons that had been symbolically important in diverse artistic contexts for millennia still 

occur, but they are repeated en masse, with little stylistic differentiation other than color. 

The decorative appeal of such designs is, however, indisputable and justified. 

Yet subtle anomalies—such as the random yellow/pink/black color sequencing of this 

composition—demonstrate the place of individual artistry within a cultural and artistic 

environment dedicated to creating large treasuries of textiles, ritual pottery, gold work 

and other finery for the elite. 

A repeat pattern of brocket deer (one of several Andean species) occupies the vibrant 

color field of a central coast–style tunic. Deer had been vital sources of food and skin 

since prehistoric times, but the animal also acquired shamanic status among several early 

cultures such as Paracas and Moche. 

Ritualized deer hunts were an important component of Moche ceremony, for example. 

Not only were deer metaphorically linked with warfare and hunting (representing 

both captive and combatant), their branching antlers and leaflike tails were pictorially 

associated with vegetation and growth. 

It is probable that even a highly decorative and stylized design reverberated with such 

connotations. 

270

292 

Votive Fiber Sculpture Anaconda Snake 

Central or South Coast culture (Ica?) 

AD 1000-1476 

Camelid wool, vegetal or cotton stuffing; 

looping, embroidery 

14" long 

This extraordinary ritual object takes the form of an anaconda snake engorged with 

prey. The bulbous shape captures the giant constrictor's unnerving tendency to 

swallow its live quarry whole. 

Although this boa is actually endemic to the tropical forests of South America, its 

deadly powers and distinctive bull's-eye markings were embedded in the Andean artistic 

imagination—even among people who could only have known this imposing creature 

via hearsay, in captivity or through myth. 

Although its predatory instincts are highlighted here, the boa was also strongly associated 

with the sacred vine ayahuasca, a potent hallucinogen used in Chavín ritualism that may 

have been introduced to south and central coast traditions by that highland cult. 

272

273

293 

Votive or Dance Ornaments 

Snakes 

South or Central Coast culture 

AD 1000-1476 

Camelid wool; tubular construction, braiding 

19" long (each) 

These sinuous three-dimensional artifacts (ceremonial slings or dance/ritual 

ornaments) convey the Andean fascination with snakes, as well as this shamanic 

creature’s association with individuals of worldly and ritual power. 

The undulating forms register a sly connection between the coiling and striking motions 

of the snake and the manner in which slings were held and unfurled at their targets. 

Open mouths (doubly so in cat. 295) vividly capture the way in which snakes unhinge 

their jaws to attack and seize their prey. 

Similarly, their decorative diamantine and zigzag markings have some basis in reality, 

possibly deriving from certain deadly species found in the South America tropical and 

cloud forest regions, such as the lethal pit vipers. 

274

294 

Ceremonial Sling 

A Self-Consuming Double-Headed Serpent 

South or Central Coast culture 

AD 1000-1476 

Camelid wool; tubular construction, braiding 

7½" x 5" 

Note: This object is cut in the center. 

275

295 

Motifs from a Garment 

Double-Headed Snake or Worm 


AD 1000-1476 

Camelid wool; plain weave (traces), embroidery 

2½" long (each) 

These individually embroidered motifs would have embellished a plain-woven 

garment (traces of the brown-and-red ground fabric are still evident). Each figure 

is patterned with a typical central coast scroll design, and although standardized, each 

reveals minute differences. Subtle shifts in the red/yellow/brown color scheme would 

have imparted a rhythmic quality to the overall design of the textile. 

The double-headedness of the serpentine creature is an ancient visual convention, but 

the shortened bodies are less common, and may represent another type of legless reptile 

or invertebrate, such as a species of worm or caterpillar. 

276

296 

Woman’s Gauze Headcloth 

Marine Deity 


AD 1000-1476 

Cotton; square mesh or gauze weave, embroidery 

15" x 12½" 

Literature 

Amano Museum 1979b, figs. 155-172. 

Gossamer headcloths, woven on the loom in an openwork technique and overlaid 

with embroidered geometric and figural designs, represent a textile innovation 

unique to the late central coast cultures. 

These subtly patterned, sophisticated shawls were worn by women. But it is likely that 

the style evolved out of the practice of making fishing nets and cordage. Naturally, those 

specialized crafts were important to—and highly developed—among peoples who lived 

off the rich resources of the Pacific seaboard. 

Because of the elasticity of the overspun yarns, the lightweight fabrics tend to bunch 

into a crinkled mass when taken off the loom or the wearer’s head. As a result, any 

pattern (even one supplemented by embroidery) is only visible when the cloth is spread 

open and held taut. 

That quality of mystery and transparency supplies a suitable medium for the icon 

delineated in this fine example. Not only is the cat-headed personage surrounded by 

fish and set within a breaking wave/scroll framework, even the pointed shape of its head 

and ears cleverly describes the outline of a fish when the image is turned sideways (see 

detail). The transformative figure speaks of reverence for the ocean deities and marine 

life. 

278

279

297 

Shaped Votive Panel 

Duck 

Pachacamac-Rímac culture, Central Coast 

AD 1000-1476 

Cotton; tapestry weave, selvedged on all sides 

11" x 10" 

Literature 

Schmidt 1929, 502. 

Reid 1993, 276. 

The sanctuary of Pachacamac, named for the Lord of 

Earthquakes and the Lower World, dominated the central 

seaboard for at least 1000 years before the Spanish Conquest. 

This magnificent ceremonial complex housed a renowned 

oracle, drawing pilgrims and tribute (including textiles) from 

across a vast region of ancient Peru. 

This powerful cult center is also associated with an extraordinary 

series of votive panels woven in the form of specific fish 

and waterfowl, and other aquatic creatures that had special 

significance for local Rímac and Lurín Valley societies. 

The eccentrically shaped textiles are designed with harmonious 

combinations of blue, white, tan and brown hues. The colors 

were derived from dyed and natural shades of cotton, which 

was cultivated in this locality. The range of blues also reflects an 

expert knowledge of indigo dyeing. 

bird is depicted in courtship display, tail cocked, wings half 

open and raised—all the better to note their luminous swathe 

of blue. The dense splattering of dusky spots is characteristic 

of female teals, but appears seasonally on male juveniles—a 

change that might have been meaningful or magical to the 

pre-Hispanic peoples. 

While this game bird was undoubtedly hunted for food, duck 

and heron feathers were also offered to mountain deities, 

reflecting the sacred status of birds associated with water and 

the sea. 

Although entire tunics in a related style are known, these 

singular tapestries were not necessarily applied to garments or 

hangings. They may have been intended as votive offerings to 

be bestowed on the temple’s priests or the deities enshrined 

within. 

The colors are particularly appropriate for this image, which 

represents the beautiful, small cinnamon teal, or another of the 

many species of river duck common to coastal habitats. The 

280

281

298 


Trambollo Fish 


AD 1000-1476 


10" x 22" 

Literature 

Taullard 1949, 144. 

Brinckerhoff 1999, fig. 54. 

Woven in the silhouette of a trambollo fish, this Pachacamac panel is a spectacular 

example of shaped weaving, dyeing and patterning. The unusual dimensions and 

contoured form (achieved with a scaffold weave technique) suggest these extraordinary 

tapestries were made for display or tribute. 

Possibly the cloths were symbolic substitutions for the great quantities of live 

fish deposited daily in front of a cult idol installed in the main ceremonial plaza of 

Pachacamac. Most certainly, the weavings celebrated the abundance of fish found in the 

cold Peruvian waters. 

The theme communicates the coastal Andean people’s dependence upon these rich 

marine resources. This aspect found expression in ritual practice as well as in myth— 

one of the best known concerned the role of the Andean female deity Urpay Huachac, 

who was widely venerated as the mother of the fish and seabirds. 

Equally striking is the fact that these are not renderings of generic fish. Details noted 

in each depiction actually pinpoint the specimen represented with uncanny accuracy 

(despite some visual overlapping with other closely related species). 

Here, for example, a medley of abstract motifs evokes the variegated markings of the 

trambollo, a kind of blenny that is plentiful along the central and south coast. The fish’s 

most conspicuous features (facial spotting, a darkly outlined mouth, long pelvic fin rays 

in front of the pectoral fins, a paddle-shaped tail) are also delineated clearly. Though 

edible, the trambollo sometimes produces an effect of stupefaction or sleepiness in those 

who consume it—an attribute that likely had shamanistic application or connotations 

in the ancient context. 

282

283

299 


Pacific Bonito Tuna 


AD 1000-1476 


7” x 18” 

Literature 

Reid 1993, 283. 

Stone-Miller 1992b, plate 58. 

The fish-shaped tapestry panels rank among the most innovative textiles developed 

by central coast weavers living in the vicinity of the Pachacamac shrine. 

Not surprisingly, the bonito tuna, which is highly noticeable in the offshore waters 

feeding on giant shoals of Peruvian anchovies and crustaceans, was a common source 

of artistic inspiration. This powerful fish was undoubtedly a prime symbol of oceanic 

vitality and abundance. 

With impressive powers of observation, the weavers deftly replicated the tuna’s conical 

head, large mouth, torpedo form, arrow-shaped tail and dark, slanted stripes on the 

upper body. Smaller fish pictured in its belly acknowledge the voracious pursuit and 

consumption of its prey. 

The X-ray style of representation, which exposes the fish’s backbone, seemingly draws 

upon ancient shamanic art conventions. 

And although there is no known cultural connection between them, there is an 

intriguing visual, symbolic and technical resemblance between these unique Pachacamac 

votive panels and the highland Pukara tradition of shaped weavings, such as the caimanfeatured 

staff-bearer seen in cat. 141. That earlier image similarly emphasizes the bony 

spine, which in Andean thought contained the very essence of life and regeneration. 

284

285

300 


Interlocking Fish 

Ica culture, South Coast 

AD 1000-1476 


7" x 19¾" 

The vibrantly patterned textiles worn by Andean nobility and state officials must 

have been a stunning sight. The visual impact could only have been intensified 

when such exquisite regalia was seen against the impressive backdrop supplied by 

the multicolored mural paintings and carved friezes adorning ceremonial and urban 

architecture. 

The synergy between the color and designs applied both to cloth and to temple and 

palatial structures is evoked by this fresco-like composition. The characteristic Andean 

fusion of figuration and abstraction yields an eye-dazzling, interlocking configuration 

based on a school of swimming fish (horizontally) and skates (vertically). 

Design compartmentalization, small-scale motifs, strong diagonals and black outlines 

define the Ica textile aesthetic. This culture encompassed a complex of affiliated societies 

that developed on the south coast during the 500-year period between the waning of 

Wari imperial influence and the advent of Inka domination. 

286

287

301 

Fragment from a Garment or Coca Bag 

Felines 

South Coast culture (Wari-related or post-Wari?) 

After AD 1000? 


8" x 6½" 

The cultural origins of this weaving are difficult to determine. The vibrant color 

points to a south coast provenience (Nasca region?), while the stripes, banded layout 

and geometric modularity of the iconic feline motif indicate Late Wari or Tiwanaku 

influence. 

The figure is disjointed and abstracted, its powerful limbs and torso merely implied 

by an undulating element that could refer equally to an anthropomorphic body or to 

clothing (in keeping with the perpetual theme of feline/human symbiosis). 

288

INKA

292

Inka Culture 

The extraordinary phenomenon that drove and shaped 

Andean civilization over millennia––the periodic 

ascendance of a powerful highland culture that imposed 

its worldview, religious beliefs, mythical icons, and design 

aesthetic over a vast region and diversity of peoples––found its 

ultimate expression in the Inka Empire (AD 1400–1535). 

Because it is the sole pre-Conquest culture (apart from the 

Chimú) for which a trove of somewhat contemporaneous 

written records exists, we have a better picture of Inka history, 

rule, society, religion, mythology, and ceremonialism––as well 

as of the ideas, people, and events that animated them––than 

for any other Andean people. 

Inka lore, rites, and traditions also tend to be the lens through 

which anterior Andean societies, customs, and arts are 

considered and interpreted (as in this catalogue). Given the 

lack of other sources of information besides archaeological 

context or later ethnohistorical and anthropological materials, 

this modern-day projection seems inevitable. However, this 

inclination undoubtedly assumes a greater continuity and 

consistency of meaning and symbolism throughout the pre- 

Columbian Andes than may be warranted. 

The Chronicles, comprising administrative and church records, 

commentaries, tracts, and histories produced by both colonial 

and native chroniclers, generally date to after the indigenous 

peoples’ cataclysmic encounter with the Spanish in the late 

15th/early 16th century. The narratives mirror a time of 

disintegration and transition (and are typically larded with 

the overt biases, distortions, and misunderstandings of the 

Spanish priests, soldiers, administrators, and other observers 

who wrote them). But fascinating information is embedded in 

the accounts. Among the most illuminating are those written 

by men of noble Inka ancestry, such as Huamán Poma (1613) 

and El Inca, Garcilaso de la Vega (1609). Those men had, if 

not immediate experience of an intact Inka world, certainly 

a profound historical memory, knowledge, and connection 

to it. And although he only arrived in the New World in 

1609, seventy-five years after the Conquest, the Spanish Jesuit 

Bernabé Cobo’s comprehensive work is another invaluable 

source (especially for its description of the intricate network 

of sacred places and shrines that was essential to Inka religious 

cults). 

The manuscripts yield insight into the workings of Inka 

cultural and social institutions, as well as the strategies of state 

and economic organization that facilitated the rapid expansion 

(in less than 150 years) of a small society centered on Cusco 

in the southern highlands of Peru to a multi-ethnic, multilingual, 

multi-faceted empire. At its maximum, the territories 

and peoples under Inka domination extended 2500 miles in 

four cardinal directions, to present-day Ecuador, northwestern 

Argentina, and central Chile, absorbing the Chimor Kingdom 

in the north-central coast, the fringe of tropical forest on the 

eastern flanks of the Andes, and all other areas and cultures in 

between. 

The Inka state represented the last, great, synthesizing cultural 

and economic force of the pre-Columbian era. The stony 

remains of Inka monumental cities, palaces, shrines, and 

ceremonial buildings still mark the landscapes of Peru and its 

neighboring countries. The most notable are concentrated 

in the sacred Urubamba and Cusco valleys where the royal 

temples, cities, and citadels, such as Cusco, Ollantaytambo, 

Sacsahuaman, and Machu Picchu, were built. But Inka 

293

structures are found throughout their historical realm, while 

the contours of Inka agricultural terraces still indent the steep 

slopes of the surrounding mountains, and many of their original 

roads and waterways still link scattered highland settlements 

and distant localities. And the Inka walls––their most abiding 

achievement––continue to awe us with their impeccable 

quality, the impossibly perfect fit of the polygonal stones, the 

shadow play of the beveled edges and faceted surfaces. 

These surfaces are virtually devoid of cult imagery and 

figurative adornment, however (apart from some archaic site 

carvings). That aspect is conspicuous, since the Inkas and 

their multifarious subject peoples worshipped an intricately 

organized, hierarchical pantheon of creator, cosmic, nature, 

mountain, and ancestral divinities of diverse local, regional, and 

imperial origins. Moreover, they associated themselves with 

the legendary past of the Tiwanaku civilization, whose ornate 

religious iconography was still partly in evidence among the 

ruined walls, portals, and stelae of the ceremonial city near Lake 

Titicaca. Even the Staff Deity, which had such a prominent 

role in the preceding cultural horizons, and whose influence 

lingered faintly in the styles and iconography of coastal Chimú 

and Lambayeque, was vanquished by the overriding abstraction 

of Inka sculptural masonry and geometric reliefs. 

Instead, Inka architectonic structures, and the often stunning 

places in which they were situated, reference nature and the 

earth itself. Carved stones, stepped terraces and stairways, 

elevated platforms, massive trapezoidal walls, fountains and 

canals accentuate the beauty and invoke the inherent spiritual 

resonances of natural features such as springs, rivers, boulders, 

rocky outcrops, hills, mountains, chasms, and caves. In the 

Andean and Inka cosmovision, these sites were coursing with 

life and imbued with waka. The very landscape was sacrosanct, 

and the animate and animating forces within it were worshipped 

and propitiated. 

Above all, the Inkas are renowned for the genius and efficiency 

of their systems: of administration; road building; labor, land, 

and water management; tribute, tax paying, and record keeping; 

and ceremonial, sacrificial, and ritual obligations. Their empire 

Tawantisuyo was conceived as being divided into unequal 

quadrants, each defined by a distinctive topography, ethnic 

character, and (pertinently) unique styles of dress and headgear. 

Most pre-existing local and regional expressions of art and 

architecture were assimilated and refashioned to conform to 

the imperial modes and models conceived in Cusco. That 

magnificent city was not only the “navel” of their universe, 

but also the seat of the emperor (the Sapa Inka) and the royal 

lineages––as well as of the mummies, entourages, and palaces 

of all the preceding Inka kings. 

As the “son” of the sun god Inti, the living ruler was a divine 

personage. The Inkas elevated this solar deity to the center 

of their religious cosmos, establishing temples to the Sun 

throughout their empire alongside local oracle and waka 

shrines (many of which were ancient and formidable in 

their own right). Indeed, the Inka supernatural pantheon was 

inclusive, making room for the veneration of myriad cosmic 

powers and celestial beings, including Mama Quilla (the moon 

divinity), Illapa/Tarapaca (embodied by thunder and rain), and 

Viracocha (the Andean creator god). Each merited a temple 

and a priesthood (and the requisite rites and offerings) in the 

Cusco ceremonial center. 

The Inka impulse to think geometrically and dualistically was 

manifest not only in their four administrative domains, but 

also in terms of cosmology and social hierarchy. In the Inka 

worldview, space, time, and human activity unfolded within a 

nested set of binary but complementary oppositions: upper/ 

lower, above/below, highland/coast, left/right, male/female, 

royal/commoner, Inka/outsider, and so on. 

That thinking shaped their textile arts as well. Garments woven 

for individuals of elevated status tend to be abstract in aesthetic, 

geometric in pattern, standardized in format, and invariably 

superb in quality and execution. The tapestry weaves and 

alpaca wool (or vicuña for royal cloth) display an extraordinary 

refinement and luxury of technique and material. They invite 

comparison with the Wari tradition, which was undoubtedly 

influential. 

294

Although there were many types of textiles for men and 

women, the two most iconic forms––the unku and the chuspa–– 

embody core Inka themes. 

The unku, the long, rectangular, sleeveless tunic or shirt worn by 

noble men and all officials, regional lords, warriors, priests, and 

high-ranking persons in the realm, encapsulates Inka focus on 

hierarchy, display, uniformity, and social cohesion. The tunics’ 

rectilinear compositions, generated with repeat patternblocks 

arranged in horizontal bands, along diagonal axes, or in dynamic 

checkerboard grids, seem to echo the exquisite, interlocking, 

modular structure of the Inka walls––just as the open-weave 

textiles worn by the Chimú elite were a visual counterpoint to 

the openwork lattices and niches decorating their adobe walls. 

The multicolored squares (most famously the imperial tokapu 

patterns) manipulate a scintillating variety of geometric 

designs based on steps, keys, spirals, crosses, concentric 

squares, diamonds, and more eccentric shapes that appear 

to reflect artistic virtuosity and imagination. Yet the mix of 

these geometries with the other stylized motifs seemingly 

constituted a meaningful system of signs and symbols tied to 

fundamental Inka concepts. 

While the scope and content of this woven language has not 

been deciphered (or agreed upon), it is probable that the 

emblems visually condensed or refracted ideas about Inka 

ethnic or mythic origin, descent and lineage, leadership and 

power, the sacred landscape, the ritual calendar, and the cycles 

of life. Indeed, the symbols likely referenced all aspects of Inka 

society, cosmology, and belief. Undoubtedly, certain designs 

had particular relevance or connotations in different regional 

contexts. 

As with the tunics, superb woven bags or chuspas were 

distributed and exchanged as official gifts and tribute or 

created as offerings for the ancestral dead. Inka ceremonialism 

was orchestrated through an elaborate annual sequence of 

ritual sacrifices, agricultural, astronomical and calendrical 

celebrations, communal festivals, processions and dances, and 

sanctified rites focused on ancestor veneration and water and 

mountain cults. The chewing, offering, and burning of coca 

leaf were an essential aspect of ritual practice (as much as the 

plant was vital to human existence at high altitudes). Thus 

small, shaped bags made especially for storing, carrying, and 

offering coca, as well as llipta (the balls of powdered lime used 

as a catalyst), had a ceremonial as well as utilitarian purpose. 

Despite a propensity for abstraction in textile styles and the 

paucity of animal figuration in textile patterning, the animal 

archetypes retained their significance as rich sources of 

myth and metaphor in Inka thought and life. Inka leadership 

ingeniously tapped the symbolism of the feline (puma/jaguar), 

bird of prey (falcon, eagle, condor), and snake, along with other 

creatures, in the service of both imperial power and personal 

charisma. 

Cusco itself was said to be laid out in the shape of a mountain 

lion, its tail delineated by the confluence of two streams that 

were regularly propitiated with sacrifices during rain rituals. 

Similarly, a weathered rock hewn in the form of a seated 

puma was venerated at the Kenko shrine just outside the royal 

city. The rock formations upon which that early temple was 

constructed were carved with serpentine zigzags and grooves 

for channeling life-enhancing and fertilizing fluids such as 

water, urine, and blood. 

The llamas that supplied much of this potent sacrificial blood 

are also extensively represented in votive imagery. Indeed, 

one of the most poignant and evocative losses to the Spanish 

plundering was a ritual installation in the gold-filled Temple of 

the Sun in the Coricancha (Qoricancha), which the chroniclers 

described as a garden filled with marvelous, life-like figurines 

of animals, butterflies, and plants fashioned from gold and 

silver—among them fields of leafy gold corn plants and llamas 

grazing on clods of gold. 

Gold was the essence of the sun, as silver was the essence of 

the moon. So the entire tableau suggests a paean to fertility, 

to the vitality conferred by the celestial deities, and to the 

riches and resources of the empire. A short-lived empire soon 

to be decimated by the arrival of Pizarro and the Spanish 

conquistadores in 1532, bringing to a close the pre-Columbian 

era and its magnificent artistic achievements. 

295

302 

Band from a Tokapu Tunic 

Butterflies and Flowers 

Inka culture 

AD 1470–1532 


tapestry weave, selvedged on one side 

5½" x 6½" 

During the Inka period, tunics of the finest-quality 

tapestry weave—known as qompi or cumbi—were made 

exclusively for the emperor. Several classes of specialist weavers 

(including cloistered young women dedicated to the ruler as 

well as the wives of regional and local lords) were obligated to 

produce such high-status cloth for tribute, tax payments and 

royal attire. In turn, the Inka bestowed imperial-style textiles 

on the nobility and administrators of regions that had come 

under Inka domination. 

Certain styles—notably the famous checkerboard-design 

tunics—were worn by the Inka's battalions and guards. These 

magnificent garments played an important role in promulgating 

Inka cultural and aesthetic values, weaving diverse peoples into 

the unity of the vast Tawantisuyo Empire. 

These emblematic textiles were standardized in size, format 

and composition (although the archaeological record has also 

yielded unique examples in addition to provincial styles). The 

tunics with the greatest prestige were patterned with single 

bands or multiple rows containing abstract, geometricized 

motifs. Known as tokapu, these designs were configured in 

squares or rectangles, and repeated in sequences that give the 

appearance of a visual code or language. 1 

The understanding of the significance of the tokapu emblems 

has continued to evolve from initial, more conservative 

speculation that such patterns at best represented a sort of 

"heraldic" device conveying information about rank, lineage, 

royalty or place of origin. Today, however, there is growing 

recognition that the icons must have been pictorial and abstract 

signs that probably encoded sacred, esoteric or cultural ideas 

and knowledge, particularly relating to the mythic history and 

worldview of the Inkas and their royal dynasties. 2 

Two of the tokapu motifs incorporated into this design 

are rendered with soft, fluid lines that suit their naturalistic 

sources, i.e., the butterfly and the bell-shaped kantu flower. In 

Inka iconography both motifs are sometimes conflated with 

depictions of noblewomen wearing mantles draped like wings. 

Butterfly imagery was also painted on the walls of sacred 

shrines and ceremonial beakers. The elements are juxtaposed 

with a stepped form that evokes mountains or Inka structures 

such as ritual platforms and water fountains. 

Given the highly ritualized conceptions of landscape, water and 

seasonal cycles, it is probable that this juxtaposition alluded to 

a specific place or time (surely spring or summer). The lushly 

forested eastern slopes of the Andes (called Antisuyo) held great 

symbolic significance to the Inkas. Not surprisingly, this region 

swarms with one of the richest diversities of butterfly species 

in the world. 

1 John H. Rowe, “Standardization in Inca Tapestry Tunics,” in The Junius B. Bird 

Textile Conference 1973, ed. Ann Pollard Rowe, Elizabeth Benson and Anne-Louise 

Schaffer (1979): 239-264. 

2 Ibid., 239-264. 

296

297

303 

Fragment from a Checkerboard Tunic 

Jaguar Motif 

Inka culture 

AD 1470–1532 


tapestry weave 

7" x 4½" 

A 

purple and red checkerboard supplies a vivid background for a dramatic jaguar 

motif. The insignia decorated a tunic probably designated for an Inka official or 

military leader. Evidently a royal emblem, the same figure is also represented among the 

tokapu symbols carved on Inka ceremonial beakers. 

Jaguars were synonymous with Antisuyo, the wild, unconquered tropical forest located 

northeast of Cuzco. Indeed this graphic icon may well commemorate a mythicohistorical 

event or personage associated with Inka conquest of those territories. The 

colonial-era historian Huamán Poma (1613), an Andean native, recounts the tale of a 

son of the sixth emperor, Inka Roca, who was said to have transformed himself into a 

jaguar in order to defeat the Chuncho inhabitants of Antisuyo. 

But while the ferocious mouth and hefty claws depicted here clearly connote power 

and domination, the organic, rootlike shape of the paw, as well as the adjacent bud or 

fruit (also seen in the butterfly image of cat. 302), imply something more organic and 

life-sustaining. 

298

299

300

304 

Coca Bag (chuspa) 

Chuquibamba style, Far South Coast 

Possibly Inka period 

AD 1470-1532 

Camelid wool; tapestry weave, 

complementary-weft weave 

7½" x 6" 

Cultivated in the Andes for at least 4000 years, coca 

(Erythroxylum coca) was invaluable to Andean societies for 

its ability to alleviate the physical stress of high-altitude living, 

as well as its myriad religious and ceremonial uses. 

As with other sacro-magical plants employed by Andean 

cultures, its symbolic significance inspired the making of 

specific types of ritual paraphernalia. However, coca was 

uniquely associated with the textile arts. There was a widespread 

tradition of weaving small bags and pouches (chuspas) from 

camelid and cotton fibers expressly for carrying or making 

offerings of coca leaf, as well as for storing the chunks of lime 

needed to catalyze its stimulant properties. 

This slightly tapering, elegant pouch epitomizes the capacity 

of this small-format textile to convey the essence of the 

pre-Columbian aesthetic, and to showcase the consummate 

virtuosity and artistry of the Andean weaver. 

A distinctive cluster of design features place the bag within the 

highland Chuquibamba style. This major tradition, centered in 

the upper Majes-Camaná, Sihuas and Ocoña Valleys located 

northwest of Arequipa, both predates and overlaps the period 

of Inka domination and influence in the region. 

Chuquibamba textiles are typically executed from a combination 

of interlocking tapestry and complementary-weft techniques, 

and display standardized color schemes. Red, green, gold and 

blue squares (here substituted by a more uncommon purple) 

are organized in diagonal or checkerboard grids that reflect 

various systematic approaches to ordering visual space and 

establishing repetition. 1 

Many Chuquibamba weavings are prominently emblazoned 

with a multiplicity of eight-pointed “stars” offset by figurative 

or geometric patterning embedded within alternating color 

squares. The layout and number of motifs incorporated into 

this composition—quadruple frogs diagonally opposed to a 

block of interlocking fish—replicate Inka systems of dividing 

their world, settlements and communities into four quarters. 

The aquatic motifs, symbolizing water sources or riverine or 

ocean habitats, surely had cosmological significance. Possibly 

this juxtaposition of fish from the sea with frogs from mountain 

rivers reflects Andean concepts about the circulation of water 

within their universe. Certain ancient myths, for example, 

envision a cosmic ocean that is fed by such watercourses and 

drunk by a celestial llama to replenish the sky river of the 

Milky Way. Completing the cycle, this water is returned to 

earth in the form of rain. 

The figures could also define the boundaries of the 

Chuquibamba world, alluding to social and cultural ties 

between the inhabitants of different regions. Indeed, this idea 

is reflected in these textiles, which were probably woven in the 

highlands but were retrieved from burials in the lower reaches 

of these coastal valleys. 

1 For an extensive discussion of the style see Mary Frame, "Chuquibamba: A Highland 

Textile Style," Textile Museum Journal 36/37 (1997/1998). 

301

305 

Coca Bag (chuspa) 

Inka culture, South Coast 

AD 1470-1532 

Cotton, camelid wool; doublecloth 

10½" x 7" 

The scope of Inka coca ritualism is amply documented 

in ethnohistorical accounts. Indeed, in the Andean 

highlands, the communal partaking of coca leaf solemnized 

most important social exchanges and ritual events—customs 

that have continued into modern times. 

The chewing, blowing and sharing coca leaf was integral to 

most activities focused on the supernatural and waka veneration. 

Coca was burned so that its fragrance and vitalizing power 

could "feed” the earth and ancestors. Divination and curing 

rites also entailed interpreting special configurations and 

scatterings of coca leaves. 

In its very totality of function, form and iconography, this 

beautiful purple and white chuspa registers the plant's essential 

place in religious ceremonies and festivals marking the Inka 

ritual calendar. Along with sacrificial llamas (or llama tallow), 

the leaf was burnt in huge conflagrations that were offered 

to the various divinities in the Inka pantheon. White llamas 

like those depicted in the lower band of this design were, for 

example, dedicated to Inti, the sun deity. Similarly, the row of 

linked human figures shown in the center may allude to the 

long processions of ritual participants in such ceremonies—or 

even the human sacrifices that were the most sacred offerings 

of all. 

Furthermore, the mountain-shaped, tiered format of the 

design probably had multiple symbolic implications. The three 

bands not only mirror the three levels of the Andean cosmos, 

their three different motifs (bird, human, animal) appear to be 

representative of different categories of being. 

Both llama and tinamou (a native, nearly flightless bird featured 

in the top row) had celestial counterparts in the Yakana and Yutu 

"dark cloud" constellations perceived in the southern sky. In 

Andean lore, Yutu, the heavenly tinamou, is associated with the 

solstices and, therefore, with certain events in the agricultural 

year. The conjunction of the two motifs here might have evoked 

particular times of the year when those constellations were 

most conspicuous or sacrifices and offerings most opportune. 1 


302

303

306 

Three Miniature Pouches 

Inka culture, South Coast 

AD 1470-1532 

Cotton, camelid wool; brocade 

(fringe in one example) 

3½" x 4½" (each) 

Conceivably, these miniscule pouches might have held llipta, 

the balls compounded of lime and ash that are chewed 

with coca leaf to release its mildly euphoric compounds. But 

it is more likely that they belong to the Andean tradition of 

miniature weavings and objects produced solely as devotional 

or symbolic offerings. 

Two of the bags display imagery similar to that of the standardsized 

chuspa shown in cat. 306. The anomalous example (bottom 

left) features a single stylized figure that is more related to 

antecedent south coast textile styles than to the imperial Inka 

one. Indeed, this bag’s trompe-l'oeil treatment of visual space 

is rooted in the much earlier Paracas-Nasca aesthetic. Small 

dots and scroll motifs inserted in key spots in the background 

suggest profile heads under the arms of the standing figure and 

a frontal face between his legs. 

In comparison to the more formal, refined execution of cat. 

306, these linear motifs are all rendered in a spirit of quirky 

inventiveness. The idiosyncratic figures share the spontaneous 

expressive line of imagery created in rock art and earth 

drawings. The quadrupeds (llamas? foxes?) acquire spiraling 

tails (bottom bag), as do the torsos of several human figures. 

This geometric motif was similarly omnipresent in Nasca and 

Sihuas styles. 

Gesture is clearly significant in pre-Columbian figuration, 

although what exactly is being communicated is not 

understood. All but one of the figures depicted in these puches 

hold both hands rigidly downward, three fingers spread. The 

sole exception (far right) adopts the exact pose displayed by one 

of the most ancient cult icons in the Andes—the Lanzón deity 

from the ceremonial center of Chavín de Huántar. This upand-down 

hand signal has been interpreted as a statement of 

cosmic balance.1 That it would reappear more than 2000 years 

later in a distant region is an extraordinary and inexplicable 

leap across time and space, but it suggests the longevity of 

Andean ritual practices and the continuity of artistic and 

symbolic thought. 

1 Richard Burger, Chavín and The Origins of Andean Civilization (1992): 136. 

304

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Young-Sanchez, Margaret 

2004 Tiwanaku: Ancestors of the Inkas. Denver: Denver Art Museum/ 

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2004 The Art of Tiwanaku; Pucara Stone Sculpture. In Tiwanaku: 

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Young-Sanchez, Margaret, ed. 

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Denver Art Museum. Denver. 

309

TIWANAKU • PUKARA • WARI 

MOCHE • HUARMEY • CHIMÚ 

LAMBAYEQUE • PACHACAMAC 

CHANCAY • ICA • INKA 

Shamans, Supernaturals and Animal Spirits is a unique compendium of extraordinary 

Pre-Columbian pictorial textile images. Encyclopedic in scope, it traces the aesthetic and 

symbolic evolution of the figure over a span of time, place and culture–from Chavín to 

Inka (500 BC-AD 1530), from north to south, coast to highland, and tropical forest to 

desert. Each society extracted its own set of symbols from these environments to shape 

a singular style and formal language to portray their icons and evoke their essential 

cultural themes. This remarkable assemblage of figures is tantalizing evidence of the 

fascinating diversity, worldview, and superb and innovative artistry of the ancient Andean 

civilizations.

Shamans, Supernaturals & Animal Spirits: Mythic Figures From the Ancient Andes

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