15th Century & Earlier Framed Nazca Textile Panel with Step Design

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An antique textile panel from Nazca culture on the south coast of nowadays Peru circa 600 to 800AD. The panel … Read more An antique textile panel from Nazca culture on the south coast of nowadays Peru circa 600 to 800AD. The panel with short fringes was likely part of a tunic and was professionally mounted and presented in a matted wood frame. The textile was finely woven from a camelid fiber dyed with natural pigments in two shades of red, black and white. The work strikes the viewer immediately with an unexpected modernity. The geometrical pattern showcases zigzagged step design, Minimal and bold, the highly graphic nature evokes a lyrical rhythm that is unparallel in the ancient textile art and could be easily mistaken as an abstract art from modern time. This step design was one of the popular motifs used by the weavers from Nazca, who created some of the most mysterious work with a minimalism aesthetic that was rarely seen in the ancient world. Considering that the artists were completely isolated without the influences of other cultures, their intrinsic creativity and artistic vision are even more impressive.
Reference: James W. Reid, The Lee M. Elman Collection of Peruvian Pre-Columbian Textiles, 2007, Editorial Ausonia, Lima, page 36.
"Textile Masterpieces of Ancient Peru" by James W. Reid, illustration 67 on plate 44.
'Textiles of Ancient Peru. Tejidos Del Peru Antiguo" page 68. See less