Work Basket

Description

In central and southern coastal Peru, archaeologists have unearthed a variety of weaving tools and work baskets. These are often found in women’s burials, which suggests that spinning yarn and weaving textiles were the domain of women. This basket was probably made for a weaver to hold tools used in making textiles, such as needle cases, needles, spindles, and combs.

Provenance

Eduard Gaffron (1861–1931), Lima, Peru, from 1892 to 1912, then Berlin, from 1912 [History of the Department report (Joanne Behrens, 1985) and correspondence in curatorial file]; by descent to his children Mercedes Gaffron, Berlin then Durham, SC, and Hans Gaffron (1902–1979), Berlin then Chicago [correspondence and documentation of the Gaffron Collection in curatorial file]; sold to the Art Institute, 1955.

Work Basket

Chancay

1000-1476

Accession Number

85586

Medium

Reed, dyed split reed, and plied cotton

Dimensions

30.5 × 11.4 × 14 cm (12 × 4 1/2 × 5 1/2 in.)

Classification

sewing baskets

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Kate S. Buckingham Endowment