Border Fragment

Description

This small but showy textile composed of three-dimensional birds, butterflies, fish, and spiders was likely a border attached to the edge of a solid-colored plain woven textile. Remarkably detailed, these types of borders celebrate the natural world and highlight the achievements of Nazca dyers. The multiple vibrant colors, produced only through the use of natural substances such as indigo, further emphasizes the natural world’s abundance.

Provenance

Pablo Soldi, Ica, Peru, by June 14, 1956 [incoming receipt RX1914, June 14, 1956; copy in curatorial object file]; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1956.

Border Fragment

Nasca

100 BCE-200 CE

Accession Number

5125

Medium

Cotton, plain weave band; embroidered with cotton and wool (camelid) in stem and cross-knit loop stitches; edged with cross-knit looping tabs

Dimensions

5.4 × 183.5 cm (2 1/8 × 72 1/4 in.)

Classification

textile

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by Mrs. Chauncey B. Borland