Tunic
200 BCE-1 BCE
Medium
Wool (camelid), simple looping; applied wool (camelid) braided neck edging; and unspun wool fringe
Dimensions
76.8 × 74.4 cm (30 1/4 × 29 1/4 in.)
Classification
textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
5366
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This tunic is identifiable through the slit at the center to accommodate the wearer’s head and neck. The geometric design of interlaced stepped diagonal lines suggests the twisting together of threads to make yarn, a fitting motif for a textile. Similar motifs appear on ceramic vessels made by the Paracas; the use of the same twisted-thread design across different media demonstrates a consistent visual language and attests to the primacy of textiles as a means of aesthetic expression for the Par...