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

253
Ornamental Pin (right)
Wari-influenced North Coast culture (Chimú?)
Circa AD 1000?
Bone, camelid wool; cross-knit looping, embroidery
11" long (cord 5")
254
Tasseled Sash (left)
Wari-influenced North Coast culture (Chimú?)
Circa AD 1000?
Camelid wool; weft-face weave (knitting?), embroidery
20" high
Although provenience information is lacking, the evident
similarities between these two objects (in terms of
material, coloration and design) strongly indicate that they
are from the same mummy bundle or cemetery. Indeed, they
appear to have been produced by the same hand or workshop.
The fanciful and beautifully detailed pin (cat.253), with its
bifurcated tassel, may have been used to secure a fabric turban,
headband or other type of cloth or garment. (It also resembles
a weaving implement.)
Identical stylized faces are repeated in the tassel of the colorful
matching belt or tie (cat. 254). A three-dimensional nose lends
a jaunty air to what is more likely a representation of a trophy
head or spirit.
Figurative patterning, compressed and repeated along the narrow
length of the finely executed sash, juxtaposes a zoomorphic
motif (snake/feline) with the upper body of a schematic
figure in the veneration pose. Wari aesthetic influence can be
detected in the modular geometry and beautiful abstraction of
the design.
234