The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Head Cloth

Head Cloth

1000–1460s
Cotton
Overall: 99.1 x 99.1 cm (39 x 39 in.)
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2017.60
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

It is unknown whether Chancay head cloths were part of larger clothing ensembles.

Description

This lovely, sheer panel—patterned entirely with tie-dyeing—was probably worn as a head cloth, a common article of women’s wear among the Chancay people of Peru’s central coast. Its colors are reminiscent of deep twilight, when the sky turns a luminous, dark blue and a shimmer of orange light appears on the horizon. It is not known whether the squares in the field have symbolic significance.
  • Before 1950s-1984
    Margrith Brenner of Zurich, Switzerland, sold to a Private Collector
    1984-2017
    Private Collector, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2017-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Bergh, Susan E.. “Acquisition Highlights: Pre-Columbian Art.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 58, no. 2 (March/April 2018): 8-9. Reproduced: P. 9; Mentioned: P. 8.
  • Gallery 232- Andean Textile Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 28, 2018-August 26, 2019).
  • {{cite web|title=Head Cloth|url=false|author=|year=1000–1460s|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2017.60