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Tunic
This spectacular tunic is of the style of the Huari Empire, which wielded influence throughout much of what now constitutes Peru over 1,000 years ago. The bold design features a stepped fret or wave motif arranged in columns. Within the columns, the fret motif is oriented in four different directions in rhythmic repetition. The frets oriented toward the center of the tunic are expanded, while those oriented toward the edges of the tunic are compressed into smaller spaces. The colors of the frets and their backgrounds vary but they all repeat diagonally up to the left across the tunic. Complex symmetrical layouts and color progressions like this, often with interesting breaks in the patterns, are a hallmark of Huari textile design. Huari tunics are among the most finely-woven textiles in the world. Six to nine miles of very fine yarn was required to make one tunic, woven with 150 to 200 yarns to the inch. This is as fine as industrially-produced fabrics today, but was achieved entirely by hand. This amazing virtuosity suggests a specialized workforce of spinners and weavers, perhaps under the patronage of the state or religious establishment. camelid hair; interlocked and slit tapestry weave with
eccentric wefts |
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