More Valuable than Gold: Pre-Columbian Peruvian Textiles

This Peruvian mantle features intricate and intriguing embroidery, and heralds from about 200 BC

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Pre-Columbian America refers to the period of history before Christopher Columbus' 1492 arrival to the continent. In the world of art, the Pre-Columbian era is a time of unique artisan production in the Americas, of purely native American artwork isolated from the Spanish colonial influence. This is especially true in the arena of textile work.

More precious than gold or silver, the complex textiles created in Pre-Columbian Peru required intricate handiwork and valuable, high-quality threads. In Inca society, textiles served as the absolute highest form of tribute to gods or elite society members.

In addition to their use as tunic material for a wealthy person in Peruvian and Andean society, the intricate textile cloths were used to wrap select individuals after death to serve as decoration and protection in their journey into the afterlife. Textile fabrics were also burned as sacrifice and offered to the Inca sun god, Inti.

Textiles heralding from at least 500-200 BCE Peru specifically from the Paracas Peninsula featured images with highly symbolic meanings. Birds, as well as other animals, emphasized the importance of communication and transformation. The textiles spoke to the journey from death to the afterlife, and the importance of forging connections between the two states.

The textiles from ancient Peru may seem at first glance to be simple. Upon closer examination, however, it becomes clear to the viewer that the designs are extremely intricate. During the Early Horizon period, which spanned from 1400 to 500 BCE, creative textile techniques began to gradually shift and ebb in varying styles. From the Early Horizon period, through the Huari and Nasca epochs, and on to the Spanish Colonial Period (which ranged from 1532 to 1821 CE) textile focuses shifted from complex embroidery to tapestry weaving, and eventually to abstraction and minimalism.

During the intermediate Huari and Nasca periods, weaving became bold and abstract in style, and eventually morphed into a basic minimalism--a clear Inca influence. When the Spanish Colonials came on the scene, however, tapestries and textiles began to feature a mixture of European and Indigenous artistic expression. While art from the Andes characteristically featured more symbolic, horizontal, and flattened images, the European influence caused more circular shapes to crop up in textiles. While Andean textiles were typically composed of camelid, feathers, and cotton, the European influence incorporated the use of silk and linen, as well as the use of shaded areas to create a three-dimensional effect more bent on realism than symbolism.