The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 14, 2025
Tunic with Profile Animals and Checkerboards
410–540 CE (radiocarbon date, 93% probability)
Overall: 72.4 x 104.1 cm (28 1/2 x 41 in.)
Dudley P. Allen Fund 2005.16
Location: Not on view
Description
The imagery in the central field of this unique tunic—animals with long tails and three-toed feet—seems to have been created by painting a slurry-like material on the pale areas to protect them when the fabric was immersed in a bath that turned other areas light brown. Then the slurry was removed, revealing the pattern. The checkerboard areas at the sides, on the other hand, are woven with brown and cream-colored yarns. Specialists puzzle over the origins of the tunic, some attributing it to the Paracas (700 BCE–1 CE) and others to the Nasca (100 BCE–650 CE), who sprang from Paracas roots.- Donley, Gregory M., "Multi-track Mind", Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine. Vol. 46 no. 03, March 2006 Mentioned & reproduced: p. 5 archive.org
- Ancient Andean Textiles. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 8, 2023-December 8, 2024).Gallery 232- Andean Textile Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 23, 2017-August 27, 2018).
- {{cite web|title=Tunic with Profile Animals and Checkerboards|url=false|author=|year=410–540 CE (radiocarbon date, 93% probability)|access-date=14 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2005.16