GENERAL DESCRIPTION
This impressive tunic reflects a pattern common to Huari (Wari) provincial textiles. The pattern pairs animate faces—which bear black-and-white bifurcated eyes, eye stripes, and “N”-form fanged teeth—with a ubiquitous motif in ancient Andean arts: the step-and-fret. The pattern color pairings reflect and rotate across the diagonal blocks, creating oblique lines that radiate outward from the central seam. The meaning of these paired colors and visual motifs remains uncertain; however, they may allude to dualities between landscape/fertility and hunting/warfare.
The complexity and consistency of this pattern support its association with a particular status of individuals. While highland Huari elite tunics consist primarily of finely woven camelid fiber, this face-fret tunic features cotton warps overlain by camelid fiber wefts. Ceramic effigies dressed in such tunics may suggest military association or status.
Adapted from
Kimberly L. Jones, PhD, Inca: Conquests of the Andes / Los Incas y las conquistas de los Andes, Label text, 2015.
NOTES
- Wari (Huari), Middle Horizon, A.D. 650-800, updated by KJones in TMS on 10/15/13, 01/03/14, 06/19/14.
- Updated geography and dates in TMS to reflect Inca label -- Perú: south-central highlands or coast, A.D. 850–950.
- Noted in TMS, Notes / Text Entries, Other (see remarks) -- Provenance Note / Collection History: A letter from Michael Rodman of Berkeley, California to Steve Berger describes the tunic as having been collected by his father, Edwin P. Rodman, during the period of his work as a missionary in Bolivia-between 1951 and 1985. Edwin Rodman developed an interest in Aymara and ancient Andean art and culture during the late 1950s and early 1960s. He purchased ceramics and textiles in Chile and Argentina as well as Bolivia. It is not known precisely when or in which country he obtained the tunic. Michael Rodman remembers seeing textiles in the family home in Kansas in 1962, but he does not mention the tunic specifically. Edwin Rodman died in August, 2000. Michael Rodman found the tunic among his father's belongings and consigned the textile to Steve Berger, whom he had met in Bolivia during the early 1980s, when the younger Rodman was teaching in the American International School in La Paz. Source: Noted in TMS Object Record [Carol Robbins, 12/2/2004].
Catalogue essays
- McDermott Art Fund
- Textiles at the Dallas Museum of Art
- Textile Production in the Andes
- Andean Orthography
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
After 1951-d. 2000: Edwin P. Rodman (d. 2000), collected during the period of his work as a missionary in Bolivia between 1951 and 1985 [1]
2000-early 2000s: his son, Daniel Weller, Berkeley, California, by inheritance [1]
early 2000s-2004: Arte Textil (Steve Berger), San Francisco, on consignment from the above [1], [2]
From 2004: Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., in honor of Carol Robbins' 40th anniversary with the Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from Steve Berger (Thomas Murray, agent for Steve Berger), Arte Textil, San Francisco [1], [2], [3]
[1] The main source for this provenance was existing provenance information in TMS. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[2] The main source for this provenance is a letter from John R. Lane, The Eugene McDermott Director of the Dallas Museum of Art to Mrs. Eugene McDermott (dated December 22, 2004, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[3] 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.
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WEB RESOURCES
The Metropolitan Museum of Art~Read more about dualism in Andean Art.
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Apply to objects where number equals 2004.55.McD
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General Description
This impressive tunic reflects a pattern common to Huari (Wari) provincial textiles. The pattern pairs animate faces—which bear black-and-white bifurcated eyes, eye stripes, and “N”-form fanged teeth—with a ubiquitous motif in ancient Andean arts: the step-and-fret. The pattern color pairings reflect and rotate across the diagonal blocks, creating oblique lines that radiate outward from the central seam. The meaning of these paired colors and visual motifs remains uncertain; however, they may allude to dualities between landscape/fertility and hunting/warfare.
The complexity and consistency of this pattern support its association with a particular status of individuals. While highland Huari elite tunics consist primarily of finely woven camelid fiber, this face-fret tunic features cotton warps overlain by camelid fiber wefts. Ceramic effigies dressed in such tunics may suggest military association or status.
Adapted from
Kimberly L. Jones, PhD, Inca: Conquests of the Andes / Los Incas y las conquistas de los Andes, Label text, 2015.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
The Metropolitan Museum of Art~Read more about dualism in Andean Art.
Notes
- Wari (Huari), Middle Horizon, A.D. 650-800, updated by KJones in TMS on 10/15/13, 01/03/14, 06/19/14.
- Updated geography and dates in TMS to reflect Inca label -- Perú: south-central highlands or coast, A.D. 850–950.
- Noted in TMS, Notes / Text Entries, Other (see remarks) -- Provenance Note / Collection History: A letter from Michael Rodman of Berkeley, California to Steve Berger describes the tunic as having been collected by his father, Edwin P. Rodman, during the period of his work as a missionary in Bolivia-between 1951 and 1985. Edwin Rodman developed an interest in Aymara and ancient Andean art and culture during the late 1950s and early 1960s. He purchased ceramics and textiles in Chile and Argentina as well as Bolivia. It is not known precisely when or in which country he obtained the tunic. Michael Rodman remembers seeing textiles in the family home in Kansas in 1962, but he does not mention the tunic specifically. Edwin Rodman died in August, 2000. Michael Rodman found the tunic among his father's belongings and consigned the textile to Steve Berger, whom he had met in Bolivia during the early 1980s, when the younger Rodman was teaching in the American International School in La Paz. Source: Noted in TMS Object Record [Carol Robbins, 12/2/2004].
Catalogue essays
- McDermott Art Fund
- Textiles at the Dallas Museum of Art
- Textile Production in the Andes
- Andean Orthography
Artist/designers
Cultures
Geography
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
After 1951-d. 2000: Edwin P. Rodman (d. 2000), collected during the period of his work as a missionary in Bolivia between 1951 and 1985 [1]
2000-early 2000s: his son, Daniel Weller, Berkeley, California, by inheritance [1]
early 2000s-2004: Arte Textil (Steve Berger), San Francisco, on consignment from the above [1], [2]
From 2004: Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., in honor of Carol Robbins' 40th anniversary with the Dallas Museum of Art, purchased from Steve Berger (Thomas Murray, agent for Steve Berger), Arte Textil, San Francisco [1], [2], [3]
[1] The main source for this provenance was existing provenance information in TMS. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[2] The main source for this provenance is a letter from John R. Lane, The Eugene McDermott Director of the Dallas Museum of Art to Mrs. Eugene McDermott (dated December 22, 2004, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records Object File). Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.
[3] 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.
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