Artwork Page for Tunic with Sacrificer

Details / Information for Tunic with Sacrificer

Tunic with Sacrificer

600–1000

South America, Peru, Central Andes, Middle Horizon, Wari people, 7th-11th century

Medium
camelid-fiber, cotton; tapestry weave
Measurements
Overall: 202.6 x 112 cm (79 3/4 x 44 1/8 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 2007.179
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

An extremely abstract supernatural sacrifice repeats in different colors and orientations across the body of this tunic, which was shortened on one side in antiquity. Look for the toothy black-and-white mouth in the sacrificer's upward-gazing head; other facial features include a button nose and a vertically divided eye. The figure holds the L-shaped haft of an axe behind its back and, at the front of its body, a short staff with a severed, upside-down human head on the top.
A camelid fiber and cotton tunic laid out as a rectangle features a narrow vertical slit in the upper center. Alternating vertical bands of solid red and mustard yellow run across the garment. The patterned yellow bands contain rows of stylized, blocky humanoid figures and geometric shapes in pink, light blue, brown, and cream. Frayed threads and small losses appear along the bottom and within the central red sections of the weathered textile.

Tunic with Sacrificer

600–1000

South America, Peru, Central Andes, Middle Horizon, Wari people, 7th-11th century

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