1976.W.2097.a-b Tunic fragment with “Inca key motif” (Peru, Inka)

Inca (Inka) tunics, or uncu (unku), were often decorated in grid blocks of distinct designs, called tocapu (tucapu), that alternated in color and orientation across the tunic. The repeated bar-and-dots motif on this textile is known as the “Inca key motif,” one of the four most common design patterns on Inca fine tapestry-woven tunics. Visible along the base, this key checkerboard tunic bears an embroidered zigzag. The zigzag and four selvedges (borders) make evident the standardization of Inca elite textile production. These uncu would have been produced by hand on a vertical loom with substantial effort invested by state weavers. Such fine weaving affirms the social status afforded by textiles and their production in Inca society.

Kimberly L. Jones, PhD, Inca: Conquests of the Andes / Los Incas y las conquistas de los Andes, Label text, 2015.

Inka (Inca): AAT: 300017326

Inca horizon: AAT: 300017352

Inca Empire: TGN: 6002741

Peru (nation): TGN: 1000056

textiles (visual works): AAT: 300014063

textile materials: AAT: 300231565

camelidae (camelid) fiber: AAT: 300310434

weaving: AAT: 300053642

embroidering: AAT: 300053653

warp: AAT: 300227930

weft: AAT: 300227934

tapestry (process): AAT: 300061981

interlocked tapestry: AAT: 300228526

selvedge (textile components): AAT: 300227893

four-selvedged (textile components): DMA

Late Horizon Period: AAT: 300017332

tunics (main garments): AAT: 300209869

fragments (object portions): AAT: 300117130

checker pattern: AAT: 300010111

step pattern: AAT: 300010229

squares (geometric figures): AAT: 300055637

stepped frets (meanders (patterns)/motifs): AAT: 300010171

red (color): AAT: 300126225

green (color): AAT: 300128438

yellow (color): AAT: 300127794

brown (color): AAT: 300127490

checker pattern (checkerboard): AAT: 300010111

stripes: AAT: 300010230

zigzags (geometric patterns): AAT: 300165028

key pattern (frets): AAT: 300010163

Inca key motif (motifs / patterns): DMA

tocapu (tucapu / information artifacts): AAT: 300264871

Until 1976: Nora and John Wise, New York [1]

From 1976: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, The Nora and John Wise Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jake L. Hamon, the Eugene McDermott Family, Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated, and Mr. and Mrs. John D. Murchison [1], [2]

[1] The main source for this provenance is existing information in TMS. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.

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

Apply to objects where number equals 1976.W.2097.a-b