Object Notes

Among the societies of Central America, gold ornaments were important symbols of power and prestige that expressed authority and status in life and in death. Made to be worn across the chest, gold disks and pendants were still worn by local inhabitants of the Caribbean coast when Europeans encountered them at the turn of the 16th century.

Raised on a cotton farm near present-day Mesquite, Texas, Otis Dozier’s work is deeply personal and illuminates a vital moment in Texas history. Active in the 1930s and 1940s, Dozier was a seminal member of the Dallas Nine, a group of regional artists who sought inspiration from their rural surroundings, including despondent farmers affected by the Great Depression.

Andean weavers, past to present, are renowned for their technical skill and diversity in textile production. This impressive patchwork textile comprises two woven panels seamed together along the center. Alternating squares of white and brown plain-weave cotton fabric are connected through double interlocked and dovetailed threads, demonstrating the high technical skill of the weaver.

This impressive loincloth features a luxurious amount of supple plain-weave cotton fabric. When the loincloth was worn, horizontal stripes at both ends, as well as the terminations of the sashes (or ties), would have been visible on the front and back side of the person. The extensive remaining fabric would have gathered loosely between the legs.

The Yup'ik Eskimo of western Alaska, believe that everything has a spirit (or soul)—people, animals, and things—and all participate in an endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The boundaries between the spirit world and the real world, and between the human world and the world of animals, are not always clear. 

The Yup'ik Eskimo of western Alaska, believe that everything has a spirit (or soul)—people, animals, and things—and all participate in an endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The boundaries between the spirit world and the real world are not always clear. 

The Yup'ik Eskimo of western Alaska believe that everything has a spirit (or soul)—people, animals, and things—and all participate in an endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The boundaries between the spirit world and the real world, and between the human world and the world of animals, are not always clear.