Fragment (From a mantle)
1000-1532
Dimensions
48.3 × 42.6 cm (19 × 16 3/4 in.)
Classification
textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
85358
Art Historical Context
This exquisite textile fragment, originating from a Tiwanaku mantle, hails from the Andean highlands between 1000 and 1532 CE. Measuring 48.3 × 42.6 cm, it as a precious remnant of a larger garment likely worn by elites in the Tiwanaku culture—a pre-Inca civilization centered near Lake Titicaca in modern-day Bolivia. Tiwanaku society thrived on advanced agriculture, monumental stonework, and masterful crafts, with textiles serving as symbols of status, ritual power, and cosmology. As a textile classified in the Art Institute of Chicago's collection, this piece exemplifies the Tiwanaku mastery...