Tunic Fragment
Wari
600-800
Medium
Cotton and wool (camelid), single interlocking tapestry weave
Dimensions
50.2 × 53.7 cm (19 3/4 × 21 1/8 in.)
Classification
tunic
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
85306
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
The Wari Empire rose to power near modern-day Ayacucho during the first millennium. Eventually, it came to control much of highland Peru alongside a related state called Tiwanaku in what is now Bolivia. Waris and Tiwanakus developed a shared corpus of imagery that was most elaborately materialized in fine tunics, which were then worn by and buried with elite men. Wari woven designs have some of the highest thread counts of any handwoven fabric made anywhere in the world. The designs on Wari tun...