Rug Item Number: 50.155 from the Brooklyn Museum
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. George E. Vincent
Label
This carpet is most likely a prayer rug used in church that belonged to an elite woman in Spanish colonial Peru. Its design features a man and woman attended by an enslaved black figure. The woman dons upper-class European attire, a social signifier embraced by wealthy Creoles (American-born Spaniards) to underscore their socio-racial and cultural ties to the Old World. Despite their unprecedented purchasing power, Creoles lacked political equity. The resulting tension paved the way for the many wars of independence from Spain in the nineteenth century.
Item History
- Made between 1700 and 1799
What
Where
- Holding Institution
- Brooklyn Museum
When
- Creation Date
- between 1700 and 1799
Other
- Classification
- Furnishing