Panel

Description

At first glance, this panel of anthropomorphized monkeys engaged in violent conflict appears to be woven with a repeating pattern. However, no group is identical to another: each thread has been placed deliberately, and each motif formed with careful discernment.

This panel’s dense tapestry weave creates the distinctive curvilinear forms characteristic of Peruvian textiles. Stitching tracks and threads at the top and bottom indicate that this panel is only part of a greater whole, perhaps a tunic or mantle.

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.

Panel

Chancay

1000-1476

Accession Number

85245

Medium

Cotton and wool (camelid), slit tapestry weave with eccentric and interlaced outlining wefts; edged with plain weave extended weft loop fringe

Dimensions

91.4 × 48.6 cm (36 × 19 1/8 in.)

Classification

weaving

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Kate S. Buckingham Endowment