Shamans, Supernaturals & Animal Spirits: Mythic Figures From the Ancient Andes

135
Band
A Procession of Supernatural Birds
Tiwanaku style
AD 200-400
Camelid wool; tapestry weave
3" x 15½"
Stone lintels spanning the doorways and niches of Tiwanaku
temples and palaces were carved with processions of
supernatural llamas, pumas and birds. These fantastical figures
adopt the same costumes, ritual accessories and sometimes
stances of human dignitaries.
Banded textiles and sashes echo the horizontal format and
repeat imagery common to these decorative friezes. The
sculptural reliefs are known to have been inlaid with gold or
painted the same vivid hues seen in the weavings; archaeologists
have found evidence of murals created with red, blue, green,
white and orange pigments. 1
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