1972.4.McD Mantle with Condors (Paracas)

In the funerary bundles recovered from Paracas burials, layer upon layer of handwoven garments wrapped each body. The largest and most impressive of the Paracas textiles is the mantle, which was worn as a shoulder cloth. In this example, two pieces of dark blue cloth were seamed together to form the ground cloth, onto which red squares and a wide, bird‑patterned border were embroidered. As in other ancient Andean textiles, the vibrantly colored yarns were spun from the hair of the llama, alpaca, or vicuna, animals of the Camelidae family native to the Andean highlands. The embroidered birds may represent male condors as suggested by their ruff of feathers (shown as a white collar) and outspread wings. The birds are repeated with a change in vertical orientation in the squares and a change in both orientation and scale in the border, characteristic Andean textile devices for achieving variety with a single motif.

Excerpt from 

Bonnie Pitman, ed., "Mantle with birds (1972.4.McD)," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012), 25.

Until 1972: Nora and John Wise, New York

From 1972: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., in memory of John O'Boyle, purchased from the above [1], [2]

[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

[2] Works of art given or purchased by The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., a non-profit organization, are placed in the custody of the DMA for the purpose of public display on the premises of the Museum or in other recognized art galleries or museum. The title to all works of art purchased (or otherwise acquired) by the McDermott Art Fund remains with the Fund.

Apply to objects where number equals 1972.4.McD