Carrying Cloth Item Number: Sf809 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Description
A complete square cloth of white cotton with four corner ornaments, a fringed border and tassels on each corner. Two red brocade corner ornaments have yellow edgings which are wrapped and brocaded. Two yellow corner ornaments have red edgings. Two tassels are three-part, alternating red and white. Two tassels, which may be fragmentary, are single white ones. S-spun singles (cotton); z-spun singles (alpaca); z-spun, two plied s cotton and alpaca yarns.
History Of Use
The technical features of the yarns and weave structures coincides with those that define north coast weaving in this period Rowe). Cloths with 4 stepped corner ornaments are quite common throughout the coastal area in this period. Many cloths have oxidized areas in the centre which are consistent with having wrapped something perishable. Like a grave offering of food. Small cloths with corner tassels for tying are still used in the Andean area for valued personal and sacred possessions.
Iconographic Meaning
The four corner ornaments have serpents with segmented bodies. Step-blocks and scrolls appear as borders and probably derive from serpent images.
Item History
What
- Name
- Carrying Cloth
- Identification Number
- Sf809
- Type of Item
- cloth
- Material
- cotton fibre and alpaca wool fibre ?
- Manufacturing Technique
- woven, sewn and dyed
- Overall
- height 61.5 cm, width 61.5 cm
Where
- Holding Institution
- MOA: University of British Columbia
- Made in
- Peru
When
- Creation Date
- between 900 and 1476
- Collection Date
- between 1949 and 1966
- Ownership Date
- before May 4, 1981
- Acquisition Date
- on May 4, 1981
Other
- Item Classes
- textiles
- Condition
- fair
- Accession Number
- 0711/0311