Pre-Columbian - Ancient Textiles for Sale

Like the ancient Egyptians and the Chinese, pre-Columbian peoples interred their dead with furnishings for the afterlife. In coastal Peru's dry climate, ancient textiles have survived in remarkable numbers, emerging from their long darkness with astonishing freshness of color. Weaving in Peru goes back to about 2000 B.C. and displays considerable sophistication and technical expertise.

Chancay Style Ancient Textile Doll Manufactured in the last 50 years, but using guaranteed ancient Peruvian textiles from the Chancay culture. Female form, composed of ancient textiles dating between 1100- $125.00

Nazca Wool and Feather Cap Fine early textile hat from the Nazca culture of southern Peru, ca 500 A.D. Tightly woven cap of camelid fibers in wave and triangle pattern, decorated on top with bright... $1,595.00

Proto Nazca Head Pieces Early south coastal Peruvian head pieces, ca 200 BC to 200 AD. Each comprised of camelid (alpaca) fibers, one bleached a very stark white, the other dyed in vivid... $995.00

Stunning Proto-Nazca Textile Frog An incredible and very early textile weaving from southern Peru! Ca 300 BC - Proto-Nazca - and woven in camelid wool in the form of an exotically colored frog with central... $3,695.00

Fine Moche Textile Section Colorful and unusual Moche textile fragment from the Uharmey Valley in Northern Peru. ca. 600 to 800 A.D. Woven in camelid fibers dyed in shades of blue, red, green, $2,195.00

Cotton was the most common fiber used for weaving cloth, although in the Central Andean Area llama, alpaca, and vicuña wool was also used. These materials were often colored with mineral and vegetable dyes. Besides woven patterns and images, textiles designs were achieved through painting, stamping, embroidering, and appliqué. In Post-Classic Mesoamerica and Peru, fabric was also made of feathers. Catlike creatures, such as jaguars, shamanic animals of ancient mythological lineage, were a frequently used motif in pre-Columbian textiles.