A single tapestry panel with an alternating pattern of human heads wearing tasseled, four-cornered hats, and fanged supernatural beings with a protruding tongues. A hole in the center of this textile was cut at a later date, indicating that it may have been worn as a tunic. Condition: Fair overall. Side seams have been cut and the textile is open and flat. The overall woven structure remains intact, but there are some small losses in the dark areas.

Tapestries, rugs, and rich fabrics were among the most valuable goods in early colonial households, second only to jewels and precious objects in gold and silver. The private market for these textiles was stimulated once Europeans realized such works’ importance in pre-Columbian cultures.

The sixteenth-century Peruvian tapestry at the left features both European and indigenous motifs, including a spotted dog (a symbol of the Dominican order) in the central field and animals from the Peruvian ornamental repertoire, such as snakes, viscachas (Andean rodents), rabbits, and birds. Native and non-native motifs were also combined in later colonial examples, such as the tapestry at the right from Cajamarca with a mermaid, a European element that was very popular in Peru, surrounded by Andean animals.


Los tapices, alfombras y ricas telas se contaban entre los bienes más valiosos de las casas del periodo colonial temprano, luego de las joyas y objetos preciosos de oro y plata. El mercado privado para estos textiles se vio estimulado cuando los europeos se percataron de su valor para las culturas precolombinas.

El tapiz peruano del siglo XVI presentado a la izquierda incluye motivos tanto europeos como indígenas; entre ellos destacan un perro moteado (símbolo de la orden Dominicana) en el campo central y animales del repertorio ornamental peruano, tales como serpientes, vizcachas (roedores andinos), conejos y pájaros. Motivos nativos y europeos también se combinan en ejemplos coloniales posteriores, como en este tapiz de Cajamarca presentado a la derecha en el que una sirena, elemento europeo muy popular en el Perú, aparece en el centro rodeada por animales andinos.

Gift of Dr. Alvin E. Friedman-Kien

Tapestries, rugs, and rich fabrics were among the most valuable goods in early colonial households, second only to jewels and precious objects in gold and silver. The private market for these textiles was stimulated once Europeans realized such works’ importance in pre-Columbian cultures.

The sixteenth-century Peruvian tapestry at the left features both European and indigenous motifs, including a spotted dog (a symbol of the Dominican order) in the central field and animals from the Peruvian ornamental repertoire, such as snakes, viscachas (Andean rodents), rabbits, and birds. Native and non-native motifs were also combined in later colonial examples, such as the tapestry at the right from Cajamarca with a mermaid, a European element that was very popular in Peru, surrounded by Andean animals.


Los tapices, alfombras y ricas telas se contaban entre los bienes más valiosos de las casas del periodo colonial temprano, luego de las joyas y objetos preciosos de oro y plata. El mercado privado para estos textiles se vio estimulado cuando los europeos se percataron de su valor para las culturas precolombinas.

El tapiz peruano del siglo XVI presentado a la izquierda incluye motivos tanto europeos como indígenas; entre ellos destacan un perro moteado (símbolo de la orden Dominicana) en el campo central y animales del repertorio ornamental peruano, tales como serpientes, vizcachas (roedores andinos), conejos y pájaros. Motivos nativos y europeos también se combinan en ejemplos coloniales posteriores, como en este tapiz de Cajamarca presentado a la derecha en el que una sirena, elemento europeo muy popular en el Perú, aparece en el centro rodeada por animales andinos.

Alfred T. White Fund

Gift of Dr. Alvin E. Friedman-Kien

Alfred T. White Fund

Alfred T. White Fund

This skirt was made for an adult male. The plain weave, dark blue background is woven with horizontal camelid fiber warps and camelid fiber wefts. Yellow, olive, red and dark green camelid fiber embroidery is used for the alternating colors in the border and the paired bands. Two 'sprang' ties are at each end of the skirt and terminate in long, bulky fringes. Crossed looping is employed at the edges and as the tassel holder (at the base of the fringe). The skirt is incomplete; the left and right sides have been cut but the embroidery area is complete. From Mary Frame's notes: Seven different figures alternate irregularly on the borders and in the paired bands, and it is unusual to have that many different figures represented on the same textile. They are felines and mythical figures, usually shown with a streamer emanating from each side of their heads and often ending with a trophy head being represented. The background color squares alternate regularly, and continuous color lines run on the S and Z slant diagonals. The embroidery style differs from the 3 styles described by Dwyer and Paul (linear, block color and broad line). Here the figures are presented in "silhouette" with little interior detailing other than facial features and pelt markings. One of the figures, the cat standing on two legs (a human stance), also appears on a fragment in the Brooklyn Museum collection (64.114.20).

Alfred W. Jenkins Fund