A Confluence of Cultures: The Child Virgin Spinning Paintings of ...

A Confluence of Cultures: 

The Child Virgin Spinning 

Paintings of Colonial Peru 

Casey Lesser 

Colonial Peruvian paintings depicting the young Virgin Mary 

spinning present the perfect artistic rendering of harmony between Spanish 

and Pre-Conquest Andean ideals. This harmony is easily perceived in The 

Child Virgin at the Spinning Wheel (Fig. I), where there is undeniable Spanish 

baroque influence in the treatment of the Virgin child and Andean influence 

in her task at hand. In his illustrative chronicle of Pre-Columbian Latin 

America Nueva Crónica y buen gobierno (c. 1615), the Andean author Felipe 

Guaman Poma de Ayala presents the centrality of textile production as a 

typically female chore and as a respected profession. This fact is exemplified 

in the case of the Aclla Coyas of the Inkas, also known as the Chosen Women 

or virgins of the sun, who were a select group of virgins given the task of 

spinning and weaving the finest textiles for Inka ceremonies and offerings. 

Ironically, colonial Peruvian paintings depicting the young Virgin 

Mary spinning actually derive from Spanish models, which were themselves 

illustrations of passages from ecclesiastical texts and the Bible. 1 Nonetheless, 

the colonial Peruvian paintings bring a vitality that the Spanish models 

lacked, with less emphasis on the hagiography of the Virgin Mary and 

more emphasis on textile production and elaborate artistic techniques. 

These new, vibrant depictions of the child Virgin spinning became a means 

by which colonial artists could express the rich culture and artistic talent 

of colonial Peru using a traditionally European template. The child Virgin 

spinning paintings of colonial Peru are rich cultural artworks because they 

link the important Andean tradition of cloth making with the Spanish 

traditions of Christianity and Marian worship, presenting a new, unique 

image of the Virgin Mary that held potent significance for both cultures. 

CASey LeSSer is a senior at The College of William and Mary majoring 

in Hispanic Studies. She would like to thank Professors Susan V. Webster and 

Francie Cate-Arries for inspiring her interest in and study of the art of Spain 

and Latin America.

The Child Virgin Spinning Paintings of Colonial Peru 

The textual sources for the European depictions of the child 

Virgin spinning appear in the Bible and other accounts of Christ’s life. 

One source in the Bible appears in the Book of Proverbs in a discussion 

of the “virtuous woman.” Here it says that “She seeketh wool, and flax, 

and worketh willingly with her hands” 2 and “She layeth her hands to 

the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.” 3 Thus, the Bible dictates 

that a “virtuous woman,” must partake in the making of cloth, and 

this skill of cloth making is a virtue. Therefore, religious texts that 

demonstrate the Virgin’s participation in cloth making are testaments 

to her virtuosity. One such example is found in the Gospel of Pseudo- 

Matthew, which describes the early life of the Virgin Mary, specifically 

her early years in the Temple, and states: 

And she occupied herself constantly with her woolwork, 

so that she in her tender years could do all 

that old women were not able to do. And this was 

the order that she had set for herself: From the 

morning to the third hour she remained in prayer; 

from the third to the ninth she was occupied with 

her weaving; and from the ninth she again applied 

herself to prayer. 4 

This account illustrates that cloth making was the only activity 

that Mary performed other than prayer. The fact that Mary, such an 

exemplary, holy young woman, took time out of her prayer to weave 

cloth emphasizes the virtuosity and spiritual value of cloth making. 

The Protevangelium of St. James references the Virgin weaving cloth: 

And there was a council of the priests, saying: Let 

us make a veil for the temple of the Lord. And the 

priest said: Call to me the undefiled virgins of the 

family of David. And the officers went away, and 

sought, and found seven virgins. And the priest 

remembered the child Mary, that she was of the 

family of David, and undefiled before God. And 

the officers went away and brought her. And they 

brought them into the temple of the Lord. And the 

priest said: Choose for me by lot who shall spin the 

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52 The Monitor - Summer 2011 

gold, and the white, and the fine linen, and the silk, 

and the blue, and the scarlet, and the true purple. 

And the true purple and the scarlet fell to the lot 

of Mary, and she took them, and went away to her 

house… And Mary took the scarlet, and span it. 5 

Here, the priests of the Temple who look for virgins worthy 

enough to spin a veil for the temple choose Mary to perform the task. 

Thus, Mary’s virtuosity is rewarded with the honor of spinning the 

temple veil. In the first homily of Proclus of Constantinople, the Virgin 

is referred to as “the awesome loom of the divine economy upon which 

the robe of union was ineffably woven.” 6 In this instance, the Virgin 

Mary is the metaphorical loom through which mankind and God are 

woven together; she is the “weaver” of Jesus. Mary is also cited many 

times in the Bible as the provider of clothing for Jesus, from when “she 

brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, 

and laid him in a manger,” to Christ’s youth, where she is cited as the 

maker and mender of his clothes. 7 Gail McMurray Gibson explains the 

role of the seamstress Virgin as “literally as well as figuratively, clother 

of the messiah.” 8 Here, the act of giving clothing to Christ is equated 

with giving life to Christ, and this powerful message is likely what 

drove European artists to portray the Virgin making cloth. It is through 

these references to Mary as “virtuous woman,” “producer of Christ” 

and “clother of Christ” that the image of the Virgin spinning appeared 

in European art as early as Middle Ages. These images and references 

serve as the foundation for the Virgin Mary spinning paintings of 

Europe, which evolved into the child Virgin Mary spinning paintings 

of colonial Peru. 

In Master Erfurt’s fifteenth-century century German rendition 

of the Virgin spinning, Virgin Mary with a Distaff (Fig. II), Mary sits at 

a loom, drawing a thread across her body. This same imagery is present 

in a contemporary work from Hungary, Virgin Mary at the Spinning 

Wheel. The thread passes directly through an image of the Christ child 

located in front of the Virgin’s womb, indicating her pregnancy. To her 

right, the face of a man emerges, most likely representing Jesus’ father, 

Joseph. Mary is an attractive young woman with long blonde hair, is 

dressed in relatively plain clothing, and sits in a simple ecclesiastical


setting. Her eyes look down as all her attention is focused on the task 

of spinning. Gibson describes the Virgin in this scene as holding the 

“Thread of Life in her hand, clothing the Word in flesh.” 9 The “Word” 

here undoubtedly refers to the Word of God; thus, Mary acts as a 

vehicle facilitating Jesus’ mission to spread the Word of God. This early 

European depiction of the Virgin spinning connects Mary as mother of 

Jesus to the act of creating new life, the life of the Christ. 

On the Iberian Peninsula, starting with Juan de Roelas, 

Spanish portrayals of the Virgin Mary spinning took a new direction, 

representing the Virgin not at the time of her pregnancy with Jesus, but 

in her youth. 10 Images of the Virgin as a child can also be attributed to 

the Protevangelium of James, where Mary is said to have learned to sew 

from her mother, Anne. 11 In comparison to the two previous paintings, 

the composition has changed drastically, and so has the message behind 

the Virgin and her actions. One can be sure that this child is indeed 

the Virgin Mary, owing to the inclusion of the vase of lilies and the 

halo of cherubim, which are traditional Marian symbols of purity. 12 

Mary also occupies an interior domestic space, which associates her 

with the home and household tasks. Roelas’s young Virgin also breaks 

from tradition in her fine clothing, signifying the upper-class or, more 

prevalent in this case, royalty, because she is a virtuous woman and the 

future mother of Christ. While in the previous European works the 

adult Virgin holds a long thread outstretched across her body, in this 

work the young Virgin child holds a short strand of thread in front of 

her and to the side, perhaps because she has yet to become the mother 

of Christ. She is in the process of spinning the strand of thread— in 

the process of living her life out for Christ, preparing for his arrival, 

and making him clothes. This Virgin also stares straight at the audience 

instead of at her work, engaging the audience and de-emphasizing the 

act of spinning. 

Pedro Nuñez Villavicencio, another Spaniard, followed Roelas’s 

lead, and painted a Virgin child, Virgin Spinning (Fig. III). This work was 

created within the context of “the height of Murillo-style sentimental 

piety,” and so the “Sevillian artist Villavicencio separated young 

Mary from her old domestic environment and enriched her 

appearance, adorning her with the headdress and jewels.” 13 Villavicencio 

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followed most of Roelas’s conventions, including the specific form of 

the chair in which the child Virgin sits However, he exaggerated the 

Virgin child’s jewelry and gave her a fuller figure, with a facial expression 

suggesting wistfulness. The Virgin child appears to be more interested 

in reflection and in looking presentable than in spinning yarn. Unlike 

the Erfurt work, that portrays a devout adult Virgin devoted to her 

spinning, this Villavicencio child Virgin appears disengaged from her 

work as she gazes toward the viewer. This new child Virgin of Spain not 

only differs from her predecessor in her age, “but also in her demeanor. 

As she gazes straight at her audience it is as if she challenges the viewer 

to meditate on the meaning of her spinning. 

In analyzing the young Virgin spinning paintings of Peru, 

it is important also to recognize the Andean origins that may have 

informed her development, evident most prominently in her task of 

spinning. In the Pre-Columbian Andes, women were expected to be 

skilled at “weaving, spinning, and cooking.” 14 Weaving and spinning 

were especially important to Inka society and each Inka woman 

was a “cloth-producing ‘specialist.’” 15 Not only did women produce 

cloth for themselves and their families, but also for the state. And 

so, commoner women between the ages of 25 and 50 were primarily 

known as makers of cloth (129-30). Cloth was at the heart of the 

economy and politics, and also a form of currency, a sign of status, 

and even a means of communication and documentation. 16 Guaman 

Poma includes the spindle in his drawings of the average Inka female, 

at each stage of her life. The female at age twelve, whose duty is to 

herd goats, brings her spindle along with her in this task, suggesting 

that the young girl brought her spinning tools with her everywhere, 

no matter the circumstances. Guaman Poma’s depiction of an Andean 

woman at thirty-three years depicts her as a professional weaver, 

justifying weaving as a respectable profession in Inka society. The 

value of cloth making is also evident in a colonial painting of an Inka 

princess from the eighteenth century (Fig. IV). In this painting, the 

Inka princess, a member of the highest class, is dressed in traditional 

Inka attire, including elaborate textiles. She holds in her hand a 

spindle signifying the virtuous task of spinning, her skill at it, and 

how this was even an accepted activity for royal women. She not only


wears fine cloth, but also makes it, justifying spinning and weaving as 

more than an activity of the lower classes. The previously mentioned 

Accla Coyas or Aqllakuna, the select group of chaste young women 

who lived in enclosure, provides another example Their task, among 

others, was to produce the finest Inka cloth, known as the cumbi. 17 

In one of Guaman Poma’s illustrations a crowd of these women sit in 

what appears to be a courtyard, hard at work with spindles and wool. 

The prevalence and high value of spinning in the Pre-Hispanic Andes 

is important in understanding the child Virgin spinning paintings, 

especially since they were unique to the colonial Andes and spinning 

was an activity that was accepted among high and low classes. 

Understanding the colonial child Virgin spinning paintings 

requires an understanding of the interaction between Spaniard and 

Andeans. Europeans during the colonial period were guilty of lumping 

all of the peoples of the Americas into the single category of people of 

the New World even though, for example, the Inka peoples of the Andes 

were completely different than the Aztecs of modern-day Mexico. This 

European fault is most evident in the allegorical images that emerged 

and circulated in the 16 th century depicting America as a voluptuous 

woman wearing little clothing but adorned with feathers and weapons 

and often accompanied by an exotic crocodile or armadillo. 18 This 

popularized image and the diaries kept by the conquistadores attest 

to the fact that Spaniards felt that the Americas needed civilizing, and 

the main way to do civilize them was through imposing Christianity. 

With this mindset, Francisco Pizarro and his entourage of nearly two 

hundred men conquered the Andean Inka Empire in 1532, ending a 

tradition that had existed for over one hundred years. 19 Following or 

accompanying conquistadores, Catholic missionaries were sent to the 

colonial Andes to set up centers of conversion, and to replace the Andeans’ 

Inka faith with Christianity. In the process of propagating Catholicism, 

these missionaries found that the Virgin Mary was a “potent ally.” To 

the Inka peoples she resembled the goddesses they were accustomed 

to worshipping, like Pachamama, “the earth-mother goddess of Inca 

religion.” 20 Therefore, the Virgin Mary became popularized in colonial 

Peruvian religious art not as a figure that allowed Spaniards to impose 

Christianity but as a familiar concept to the native Andeans. 

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The depictions of the child Virgin spinning in colonial Peruvian 

society emerged with a certain template that was adhered to by virtually 

all artists (Fig. I). The Virgin is an adolescent, and she sits in front 

of a dark background with a floral garland framing her. The vase of 

lilies that Roelas included is not present. However, in most cases, the 

floral garland frame includes the white lilies and other Marian flowers. 

Her body points towards her left, and she is seated in a wooden chair 

with a red cushion and gold decoration, holding the distaff under her 

left arm, a thread in her left hand with her pinky finger extended, 

and the spindle in her right hand. She engages the viewer with round 

black eyes and appears distracted from her spinning, perhaps inviting 

participation or emulation from the viewer. The halo of cherubim that 

Villavicencio and Roelas represented is not present here. Instead, a starshaped 

halo of gold rays emanates from the child Virgin’s head like 

a crown. Draped over her shoulders is a cape-like coverlet with lace 

trimming that closes above her chest with a round broche, accompanied 

by a matching dress with a corset-like top made of fine textiles in red, 

gold and silver with floral designs. Her outfit is completed with jewelry, 

dangling gold earrings, a set of red beaded bracelets on either wrist, red 

bows, and a ring on the pinky finger of her right hand. A red and gold 

headband adorned with a circular decorative broche on the left side 

of her head pushes back her short, cropped dark hair. The majority 

of these characteristics are found in the Spanish child Virgin spinning 

models of Roelas and Villavicencio, but the Peruvian depictions are 

undeniably more elaborate. With the addition of a significant amount 

of gold and decorative elements like the floral garland and dress 

adornments, these Peruvian child Virgins appear to be of a higher class 

than their Spanish counterparts. The Peruvian examples also present a 

more doll-like figure, as opposed to that of a child with a round face, 

rosy cheeks, and big eyes. Of my sample of seven paintings of Peruvian 

child Virgin spinning paintings, six of them possess the majority of 

these characteristics. There is one painting, known as young Virgin 

Spinning from the 17 th or 18 th century, that is an exception because 

it lacks the floral garland border and the golden halo and instead sits 

beneath a halo of winged cherubim. This example borrows from the 

Roelas and Villavicencio models, but the cherubim here play a more


dominant role: they are solid figures as opposed to their ethereal 

predecessors. This child Virgin is also different in her dress. She wears 

a dark brown cloak and a simpler dress, also reflective of Roelas and 

Villavicencio. A single ring on her ring finger is a characteristic that is 

unique to this example, perhaps alluding to her future marriage. The 

lack of decoration and adherence to Spanish models in this painting 

suggests it is an early, perhaps even a Spanish import. 

Luis Eduardo Wuffarden explains in reference to the Peruvian 

child Virgin spinning paintings that “all the elements of her attire were 

already present in her Spanish predecessors, and, in principle, it would 

be a mistake to interpret them as the pre-Columbian Andean lliclla 

[shawls] or tupu (ornamental brooch) being given a contemporary 

recreation.” 21 However, Carol Damian explains, “Mary is dressed in a 

combination of noble Spanish and Inka costumes. The golden patterns 

of the cloth incorporate both the floral brocades of European origin 

and the geometric patterns of the Inka.” 22 Therefore, due to the Spanish 

models of the child Virgin spinning, and Andean textile traditions, it 

is fair to characterize the dress of the Peruvian child Virgin paintings 

as Spanish but infused with Andean textile traditions. The connection 

to Andean tradition was surely recognized by indigenous peoples, 

and undoubtedly gave these paintings some of their power within the 

colonial context. 

Another example of the confluence of Spanish and Andean 

traditions is present in the child Virgin’s hairstyle. Although the child 

Virgins in both Spanish and colonial Peruvian paintings have short, 

dark cropped hair, Villavicencio appears to have initiated the elaborate 

headband trend that the Peruvians continued. The curl that the child 

Virgin wears on her forehead can also be attributed to Villavicencio. 

This curl is of great interest within colonial Peru, as Damian explains: 

To the Spanish observer, the curl is a delightful 

addition of the native artist. To the native viewer, the 

headband and curl represent royal insignia. The Child 

Mary is the equivalent of the Inka princess (Ñusta) 

and the Chosen Women…Also, for the Andean 

observer, the golden radiances behind her head are 

symbolic of Inka royalty’s homage to the sun. 23 

57


Damian claims then that the colonial Andean people see this child 

Virgin as the successor to the accla coyas (Fig. II) and the ñustas. The “royal 

insignia” to which Damian refers is the Inka headdress, the maskapaycha— 

“a crimson fringe worn over the forehead, the essential part of the royal 

headdress.” 24 During the Inka Empire, only the Inka ruler, the Sapa Inka, 

wore the maskapaycha, and in colonial Peru, it continued to be a sign of 

nobility. However, controversy centered on who was worthy of wearing the 

Inka headdress in colonial society. Women were never allowed to wear the 

maskapaycha, and in portraits of noble Andean women, the maskapaycha 

was only present on a table beside the woman, “indicating that [she] derived 

[her] status from [her] husband’s right to wear it.” 25 Therefore, according 

to Damian’s interpretation when Andeans viewed the child Virgin spinning 

with her headband and the curl, they were reminded of the red tuft of the 

maskapaycha. The representation of an actual maskapaycha on the Virgin 

Mary’s head would not only go against Christianity, but would also subvert 

Andean tradition. For this reason, the allusion to the Andean headdress 

is subtle, yet it still associates the Virgin with Andean nobility and would 

likely have received attention and respect from Andean audiences. 

Although the colonial image of the child Virgin serves as a sort 

of hybrid of Spanish and Andean tradition, one cannot ignore her bright, 

pale skin. While her skin color functions artistically to seize viewers’ 

attention and put all focus on the little Virgin’s face, it is certainly not the 

skin of an indigenous Andean person. In some cases, the color used on the 

face and hands is so pale it no longer resembles human skin. The pattern 

among examples of this child Virgin with bright white skin proves the 

intentionality of the decision to make her skin light to resemble Spaniards. 

Therefore, since this child Virgin was a figure of Christian worship that 

Andean peoples could relate to, artists were careful to designate that this 

figure was more Spanish than indigenous. 

Ideological intentions aside, these child Virgin spinning paintings 

are remarkable testaments to the skill of colonial Peruvian artists. There 

is an unmistakable close and careful attention to detail in creating these 

delicate child Virgins. From the intricate gold lace trimmings, to the 

complex headbands, to the elaborate floral garlands, these paintings reflect 

painstaking effort and a large time commitment. This careful attention to 

the subject emphasizes their importance and suggests that the paintings


were of great value within colonial Peru. While there are a few Peruvian 

depictions of an older Virgin Mary, in her early adulthood when she is 

engaged in spinning, this large grouping of child Virgin’s suggests that the 

tradition of the Virgin spinning as a child was more common and popular 

in colonial Peru. This can be understood through observing one of these 

older spinning Virgins, the young Virgin Mary Weaving, who undoubtedly 

lacks the appeal that the child possesses. 

It is also important to recognize that textile production continued 

to occupy a place of great significance in colonial Peruvian society. 

Spaniards were mesmerized with the elaborate and “exotic” textiles of the 

Andes and demanded the production of textiles through tribute to the 

state, to the point where they established factories for textile production 

known as obrajes. 26 With the introduction of the obrajes, men and women 

began to work in these factories, using new European upright looms, 

while many women remained in domestic space, employing traditional 

weaving methods like the distaff and whorl that the child Virgin uses. 27 

Owing to the continued prevalence of spinning, and the Spaniards’ desire 

for fine Andean cloth, the child Virgin spinning paintings elevated the 

task of spinning, thereby encouraging women to make cloth through its 

association with the affluent Virgin and with the accla coyas. 

Although this tradition began in Spain, one might wonder why this 

child Virgin translated so well into Peruvian society? And would this idea of 

the Virgin spinning have meant less in colonial Peru if the Virgin were an 

adult? While it is possible that images of the child Virgin spinning were the 

only models that reached Peru, this does not explain their establishment 

and popularization, or their remarkable exclusivity to Peru. One solution 

to this conundrum is that the well-established cloth making traditions in 

the pre-Hispanic Andes provided the perfect environment to receive this 

image of the child Virgin. For the Andean people, this Virgin resembled 

and recalled the young Accla Coyas so highly respected by the Inka as well 

as the Inka ñustas and coyas with distaffs and spindles. These associations 

worked to the favor of Spaniards because presenting an image of the Virgin 

Mary to which indigenous people could relate facilitated their mission of 

implementing Christianity. By aligning the Virgin Mary with one of the 

greatest Andean professions, Spaniards could create an association between 

the two, making the Virgin Mary a personage that indigenous people could 

59


understand more easily and would be more likely to accept. Upon learning 

the effectiveness and power of these paintings, it is likely that Spaniards 

would have commissioned more of this type of painting, disseminating 

them across the colony. The centrality of spinning in Andean culture, the 

worship of Accla Coyas, and the respect for elite ñustas and coyas to some 

extent account for why these paintings thrived in the Andes and not in the 

viceroyalty of New Spain. 

The endearing child Virgin spinning paintings are an expression 

of the confluence of Spanish and Andean cultures. Although the paintings 

derive from Spanish prototypes, their connection to Andean culture is 

irrefutable. Whether these paintings were executed by Spanish or by 

Andean artists, it seems inevitable that the Spaniards favored the power 

these paintings held, and commissioned many copies of them. Although 

the child Virgin does not resemble the indigenous woman of colonial 

Peru, she is familiar in her activity and dress, and was likely to have been 

understood as a figure of worship. For women of the upper classes, the dolllike, 

charming appearance would likely have been adored and associated 

with a daughter figure. The artistic craftsmanship and skill that the 

paintings evince are representative of the fine artists of colonial Peru and of 

their respect for this subject. Through the fusion of Andean and Christian 

traditions, the child Virgin Mary spinning paintings were masterful artistic 

means of colonization, presenting Christianity within its new context of 

Colonial Peru in a non-threatening, harmonious way. 

Fig. I. Anonymous, The Child Virgin at the Spinning Wheel, ca. 1680- 

1710, Museo Pedro de Osma, Lima, Peru. MDID.


Fig. II. Master of Erfurt, Virgin Mary with a Distaff, ca. 15th C., 

Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany. MDID. 

Fig. III. Pedro Nuñez Villavicencio, Virgin Spinning, ca. 17th C., 

Museo del Prado, Spain. MDID. 

Fig. IV. Anonymous, An Inca Princess and a Dwarf, ca. 1700-1800, 

Colonial Peru. MDID. 

61


Notes 

1 Carol Damian, “The Virgin of the Andes: Inka Queen and Christian Goddess,” 

Woman and Art in early Modern Latin America (Leiden: Brill, 2007), 79. 

2 The Book of Proverbs, (New York: Sheldon & Co, 1872), 31:13. 

3 Ibid., 31:19. 

4 “The Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew,” The Ante-Nicene Fathers: Translations of 

the Writings of the Fathers Down to A.d. 325, Eds. Alexander Roberts, James 

Donaldson, A.C. Coxe, Allan Menzies, Ernest C. Richardson, and Bernhard Pick 

(New York: C. Scribner’s Sons, 1903), 371. 

5 “The Protevangelium of James,” The Ante-Nicene Fathers: Translations of 

the Writings of the Fathers Down to A.d. 325, eds. Alexander Roberts, James 

Donaldson, A.C. Coxe, Allan Menzies, Ernest C. Richardson, and Bernhard Pick 

(New York: C. Scribner’s Sons, 1903), 363. 

6 Nicholas Constas and Proclus, “Homily I,” Proclus of Constantinople and the Cult 

of the Virgin in Late Antiquity: Homilies 1-5, Texts and Translations, Supplements to 

Vigiliae Christianae, 66 (Leiden: Brill, 2003), 137. 

7 Luke, 2:7. 

8 Gail McMurray Gibson, “The Thread of Life in the Hand of the Virgin,” equally 

in God’s Image: Women in the Middle Ages, Eds. Julia B Holloway, Constance S. 

Wright, and Joan Bechtold (New York: P. Lang, 1990), 50. 

9 Ibid., 51. 

10 Luis Eduardo Wuffarden, “The Child Virgin Spinning,” The Arts in 

Latin America, 1492-1820, eds. Joseph J. Rishel and Suzanne L. Stratton, 

(Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2006), 463. 

11 Damian, 79. 

12 George Ferguson, Signs and Symbols in Christian Art: With Illustrations from 

Paintings of the renaissance (London: Oxford University Press, 1976), 33. 

13 Wuffarden, 463. 

14 Irene Silverblatt, “Andean Women in the Inca Empire,” Feminist Studies, 4:3 (1978), 42. 

15 Cathy L. Costin, “Housewives, Chosen Women, Skilled Men: Cloth Production 

and Social Identity in the Late Prehispanic Andes,” Archaeological Papers of the 

American Anthropological Association, 8:1 (1998), 129. 

16 Silverblatt, 42. 

17 Costin, 135. 

18 Clare Le Corbeiller, “Miss America and Her Sisters: Personifications of the Four 

Parts of the World,” Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, 19:8 (1961), 210. 


20 Duncan, 32. 

21 Wuffarden, 463. 


23 Ibid., 89. 

24 Marie Timberlake, “The Painted Colonial Image: Jesuit and Andean Fabrication 

of History in Matrimonio de García de Loyola con Ñusta Beatriz,” Journal of 

Medieval and early Modern Studies, 29:3 (1999), 573. 

25 Ibid., 580-581. 

26 Karen B. Graubart, “Weaving and the Construction of a Gender Division of 

Labor in Early Colonial Peru,” American Indian Quarterly, 24:4 (2000), 554. 

27 Ibid., 555.

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