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

261
Fragment from a Woman’s Shawl?
Anthropomorphic Frog
Ica style, South Coast
AD 1300-1476
Cotton, camelid wool; tapestry weave
6" x 9½"
Another image of a squatting, frog-like being with upraised arms
and an awestruck expression is explored in terms of the visual
interaction between positive and negative, dark and light, blue and
yellow, geometry and figuration.
The fragment is related to, or may originally have been part of, a
woman's shawl from Ica (now in the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford).
That shawl was published by Ann Pollard Rowe, who suggests that the
design, with its strong black diagonal outlines, has assimilated foreign
influence, most likely from the north (Chincha or Chancay). 1
1 Ann Pollard Rowe, "Ica Style Woman's Dress,” Textile Museum Journal 40/41 (2001-2002): fig. 30.
241