Artwork Page for Tapestry Fragment

Details / Information for Tapestry Fragment

Tapestry Fragment

700–1370s

Peru, North Coast, Lambayeque (Sicán) people

Medium
camelid fiber and cotton, tapestry weave
Measurements
Overall: 40 x 16.2 cm (15 3/4 x 6 3/8 in.); Mounted: 49.5 x 16.2 cm (19 1/2 x 6 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1991.223
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Description

The prominent figure with an elaborate headdress duplicated on this brightly colored fragment is known today as a “Lord,” a term that reveals uncertainty about his identity but confidence in his prestige. Whether a king or a deity, he was crucially important to the north coast Lambayeque (lahm-buy-YEK-kay) (Sicán) people, who often portrayed him in a wide range of media. The geometric motif that repeats in the nine central squares is unidentified.
A vertically long tapestry fragment divides into three sections. In the upper and lower stands a figure with a rectangular dark-blue body in front of a red background and adorned with yellow geometric patterns and with arms open wide, a feathered structure flaring from behind their head and atop their headdress. The central section is divided into nine rectangular sections in shades of light yellow-brown, each featuring a crescent or mustache shape.

Tapestry Fragment

700–1370s

Peru, North Coast, Lambayeque (Sicán) people

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