The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 21, 2025

Vertically long tapestry fragment divided 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 mustache-like shape.

Tapestry Fragment

700–1370s

Peru, North Coast, Lambayeque people

(Sicán)
camelid fiber and cotton, tapestry weave
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.)
John L. Severance Fund 1991.223
Location: 232 Andean

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.
  • Ancient Andean Textiles. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 14, 2024-December 14, 2025).
    Gallery 232- Andean Textile Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 28, 2018-August 26, 2019).
    Andean Gallery 107 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 29, 2004-April 12, 2005).
  • {{cite web|title=Tapestry Fragment|url=false|author=|year=700–1370s|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1991.223