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Source Description
This abstract Sihuas textile panel shows yet again the simplification and geometricization of these textiles, particularly in the later parts of the civilization’s chronology. This panel shows an abstracted deity with rays emanating from it. It would have been oriented vertically, with the small squares in the central white square standing in as eyes, with abstracted tears flowing from them. Although the precise meaning of these weeping eyes is not well-understood, it was common in the iconography of later Nazca and other cultures. Variants of this rayed deity are some of the most characteristic iconography of the Sihuas culture, with their degree of detail and realism varying significantly. The four-part crosses at the top and bottom of the panel (when oriented vertically, as it should be) also presage the Andean cross so important for Huari textiles. It is interesting that the deity is shown with eight days, perhaps referencing spiders, whose skill at spinning and weaving made them of great importance in Andean folklore.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
85459
label
Panel
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
85459
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Panel
description
This abstract Sihuas textile panel shows yet again the simplification and geometricization of these textiles, particularly in the later parts of the civilization’s chronology. This panel shows an abstracted deity with rays emanating from it. It would have been oriented vertically, with the small squares in the central white square standing in as eyes, with abstracted tears flowing from them. Although the precise meaning of these weeping eyes is not well-understood, it was common in the iconography of later Nazca and other cultures. Variants of this rayed deity are some of the most characteristic iconography of the Sihuas culture, with their degree of detail and realism varying significantly. The four-part crosses at the top and bottom of the panel (when oriented vertically, as it should be) also presage the Andean cross so important for Huari textiles. It is interesting that the deity is shown with eight days, perhaps referencing spiders, whose skill at spinning and weaving made them of great importance in Andean folklore.
provenance
Purchased by Georgia de Havenon, New York; given to Walters Art Museum, 2016.
date
100 BCE-300 CE
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
panels (costume components)
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
54.6
height
87.6
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 21 1/2 × 34 1/2 in. (54.6 × 87.6 cm)Framed: H: 38 11/16 × W: 25 9/16 × D: 1 5/16 in. (98.2 × 65 × 3.4 cm)
Source extras
cul
Peruvian
med
camelid fibers
creator_ids
2768
collection_ids
AME
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
fa797666cfc1a65a
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
30485e74dbec9c60
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no