Border Fragment

Textiles

A.D. 1000/1476

Chancay
Central coast, Peru

The Chancay primarily occupied the Huaura, Chancay, and Chillón river valleys along the central coast of Peru. Despite the fact that numerous examples of Chancay artwork survive, little is known about their culture and textile tradition. However, the quality of Chancay textiles demonstrates the importance of the artform within this enigmatic community. Rows of venomous scorpions scurry across the central area of this fragment, accompanied by a band of interlocking birds. These noctrnal arachnids are associated with death, war, and the supernatural realm and likely reference the fearsome warriors who ruled over the different Chancay communities.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Textiles

Culture: Chancay
Title: Border Fragment
Place: Peru (Object made in:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: Made 1000–1476
Medium: Cotton and wool (camelid), bands of plain weave, slit tapestry weave with wrapping outlining wefts, and three-color complementary weft weave; edged with plain weave extended weft loop fringe
Dimensions: 34.2 × 39.3 cm (13 1/2 × 15 1/2 in.)
Credit Line: Kate S. Buckingham Endowment
Reference Number: 1955.1775
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/85502/manifest.json

The Art Institute of Chicago, Junior Museum, Textiles, April 1969
The Art Institute of Chicago, Department of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, September 11- December 16, 1985
The Art Institute of Chicago, Department of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, January 17- June 17, 1991
Art Institute of Chicago, Elizabeth F. Cheney and Agnes Allerton Textile Galleries, Mexican, Central, and South American Textiles: A Living Legacy, Oct. 28, 1992-Jan. 17, 1993.
Art Institute of Chicago, Department of African and Amerindian Art, July 5- October 10, 2001
The Art Institute of Chicago, Gallery 136, Department of African and Amerindian, October 31, 2013-February 20, 2014

Eduard Gaffron (1861–1931), Lima, Peru, from 1892 to 1912, then Berlin, from 1912 [History of the Department report (Joanne Behrens, 1985) and correspondence in curatorial file]; by descent to his children Mercedes Gaffron, Berlin then Durham, SC, and Hans Gaffron (1902–1979), Berlin then Chicago [correspondence and documentation of the Gaffron Collection in curatorial file]; sold to the Art Institute, 1955.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.