The weavers of these two Huari bands or straps made extraordinary and very appealing aesthetic choices. The bands have a similar structure, being created from finely spun camelid wool and cotton, dyed in bright colours extracted from plants, animals and perhaps minerals, and then woven into bands. Their function is not known—perhaps they were used as head bands or belts, or as straps. In the end, both serve to display the virtuoso skills and artistic genius of anonymous craftspeople who lived in Peru more than 1000 years ago. It is not certain if they were created by men or women.

The longer band, a warp-faced double-cloth, has a complex technique: it was woven as a tube with four sets of wool warp threads, and a single, spiralling cotton weft.¹ The artist has restricted the palette to four striking hues: red, green, black and cream (probably natural, undyed wool). Each end alternates the colours as stripes—one lot vertical, the other horizontal. Small image panels are divided by checkerboards. Two double-headed snakes change their colour schemes, eyes, outlines and backgrounds, not only inside the squares, but on the front and back. Humanoid deities inhabit the next panels, transforming themselves, their headdresses, limbs and various attributes. The weaver’s skill is such that the flickering tongue of a tiny snake can be distinguished.

The shorter band is a double-faced, single interlocking tapestry, woven with two shades of red ground, possibly cochineal or madder (Rubia tinctorum). Three different panels display various motifs—bird, insect, perhaps vegetal—which are more difficult to identify as Huari imagery tended more and more to abstraction. The central figure, on a white ground, resembles an ornate staff deity, with elements such as clawed feet and concentric circles, accompanied by animals. Each panel has a totally distinct colour scheme, separated by strips of chevrons. As was normal practice, the fabrics may have been made for use in this life, but certainly were intended to be interred to accompany the dead.

Christine Dixon

1. Technical examinations by National Gallery of Australia textile conservators Jane Wild and Micheline Ford.

The weavers of these two Huari bands or straps made extraordinary and very appealing aesthetic choices. The bands have a similar structure, being created from finely spun camelid wool and cotton, dyed in bright colours extracted from plants, animals and perhaps minerals, and then woven into bands. Their function is not known—perhaps they were used as head bands or belts, or as straps. In the end, both serve to display the virtuoso skills and artistic genius of anonymous craftspeople who lived in Peru more than 1000 years ago. It is not certain if they were created by men or women.

The longer band, a warp-faced double-cloth, has a complex technique: it was woven as a tube with four sets of wool warp threads, and a single, spiralling cotton weft.¹ The artist has restricted the palette to four striking hues: red, green, black and cream (probably natural, undyed wool). Each end alternates the colours as stripes—one lot vertical, the other horizontal. Small image panels are divided by checkerboards. Two double-headed snakes change their colour schemes, eyes, outlines and backgrounds, not only inside the squares, but on the front and back. Humanoid deities inhabit the next panels, transforming themselves, their headdresses, limbs and various attributes. The weaver’s skill is such that the flickering tongue of a tiny snake can be distinguished.

The shorter band is a double-faced, single interlocking tapestry, woven with two shades of red ground, possibly cochineal or madder (Rubia tinctorum). Three different panels display various motifs—bird, insect, perhaps vegetal—which are more difficult to identify as Huari imagery tended more and more to abstraction. The central figure, on a white ground, resembles an ornate staff deity, with elements such as clawed feet and concentric circles, accompanied by animals. Each panel has a totally distinct colour scheme, separated by strips of chevrons. As was normal practice, the fabrics may have been made for use in this life, but certainly were intended to be interred to accompany the dead.

Christine Dixon

1. Technical examinations by National Gallery of Australia textile conservators Jane Wild and Micheline Ford.