Pre-Columbian Ancient Textiles - Artemis Gallery

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.

Framed Inca Textile Child's Tump Line A lovely and very unusual Inca textile tump-line, ca 1350 to 1500 AD. Woven of camelid fibers (llama wool or alpaca) using a very rare purple dye, plus red, brown and tan... $695.00

Framed Proto Nazca Tie-Dyed Textile Panel A very bright and vibrant tie-dyed textile fragment dating before the emergence of the Nazca, in southern Peru. Ca 100 BC - 100 AD, of dyed cotton fibers in gold over red... $895.00 $626.50

Proto Nazca Feather Panel, Abstract Feline From southern Peru, ca. 200 BC to 100 AD. Ancient textile panel to which very vibrant parrot feathers were attached to form an abstract feline, standing with claws extended - $5,495.00

Inca Pachacamac Textile Panel Very lovely ancient textile panel from the Pachacamac site, located about 40 miles southeast of Lima, Peru. Dating ca. 1400 AD, panel of woven camelid woolen fibers... $1,295.00

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.