tunic

This fragment, woven from camelid hair, comes from a knee-length men’s tunic in the Colonial Inka style, dating to the 16th or 17th century. Featuring a wide band of squares with intricate geometric patterns in dark brown, red, blue, black, and off-white, the tunic was a high-quality garment, known as qombi. The band, adorned with abstract flowers, formed the waistband, a key element in traditional Inca ceremonial attire. Such tunics were worn to signify the wearer’s noble status and connection to the Inca elite, even after the Spanish conquest of Peru in 1532. This fragment,acquired by George Hewitt Myers in 1940, exemplifies the enduring craftsmanship of Andean weavers.

Joanne Pillsbury (Author), "Inka Unku: Strategy and Design in Colonial Peru", Cleveland Studies in the History of Art, Cleveland Studies in the History of Art; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, 2002, vol. 7, p. 91, fig. 27

"Annual Report 2006", The Textile Museum , The Textile Museum, Washington, D.C., 2008, p. 17 detail

Tapestries of Colonial Peru, The Textile Museum, Washington DC, October 12, 1968 - April 30, 1969

Seldom Seen: Director's Choice from the Museum's Collections, February 10, 2006 - July 30, 2006

Peruvian Spanish-Colonial Textiles, The Textile Museum, Washington DC, March 13, 1961 - June 01, 1961

Peruvian Textiles, George Washington University Library, Washington DC, January 01, 1954 - January 31, 1954