Pre-Columbian, North Coast Peru, Chimu culture, ca. 700 to 1470 CE. Grand in many respects - scale, color palette, design, and more - a striking textile that is sure to make a statement, comprised of two large panels of tightly-woven camelid fibers in shades of red, grey-blue, yellow-ochre, and chocolate brown. The composition presents multiple diagonal registers of repeated abstract winged and long-necked bird figures all arranged in a brilliant design culminating in six stepped peaks at the top -this stepped silhouette bordered by red/ochre striated motifs that mirror the styling of the bold linear bands at the lower end- with twenty-one vertical 'tails' emerging from the bottom. In a word, impressive! Custom mounted: sewn on museum-quality white linen and wrapped onto wooden stretchers under lucite. Size: 40.125" L x 64" W (101.9 cm x 162.6 cm)

Birds were favorite iconographic motifs in Chimu textiles. In the Pre-Columbian world, indigenous cultures regarded birds as sky animals associated with the celestial realm where they acted as messengers between humankind and their deities.

Provenance: private Rochester, Michigan, USA collection

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#126817

Metal loops on verso for suspension. Some gallery paper on verso with tears. Lucite covering has a few scuffs, scratches, and adhesive residue, but is quite serviceable. Textile itself looks wonderful, save one small repair to one vertical 'tail' at the bottom.