unknown Chimú
Primary

Chimu Textile Fragment with Bird Imagery

Late Intermediate Period
ca. 1000 - ca. 1476

19 11/16 x 12 13/16 x 1/16 in. (50 x 32.5 x 0.2 cm)

This object has the following keywords:

• animal fiber - Any fiber obtained from animal sources, for example sheep wool, alpaca, mohair, angora, and silk. In general, animal fibers do not burn as readily as vegetable fibers, but instead tend to char and emit mildly nitrogenous odors characteristic of burnt hair. Except for silk, all animal fibers can be microscopically characterized by their tiny surface scales and center shaft.
• Animalia - Kingdom containing multicellular organisms having cells bound by a plasma membrane and organized into tissue and specialized tissue systems that permit them to either move about in search of food or to draw food toward themselves. Unable to make their own food within themselves, as photosynthetic plants do, they rely on consuming preformed food. They possess a nervous system with sensory and motor nerves, enabling them to receive environmental stimuli and to respond with specialized movements.
• Aves - The class of vertebrate animals that are typically bipedal and warm-blooded, lay large-yolked hardshelled eggs, often arboreal, and possessing feathers, hollow bones, forelimbs adapted for flight (although some have lost the ability to fly) and hindlimbs for perching and locomotion, a four-chambered heart, keen vision, a horny beak without teeth, and a large muscular stomach. Birds arose from theropod dinosaurs, which were an order of carnivorous dinosaurs.
• black - UCL (Universal Color Language) standard color name identifying a range of blackish colors. More specifically, black is an achromatic color of maximum darkness, referring to objects having little or no hue owing to the absorption of almost all light in the visible spectrum. In the context of pigments, black is theoretically the mixture of all colors. In the context of colors of light, black is the absence of light.
• blue - Hue name for one of the three primary additive colors; that portion of the spectrum lying between green and violet, with a wavelength of about 420 to 490 nanometers, which is the shortest wavelength range of the three primary colors. The term may refer to any of this group of colors that vary in lightness and saturation. An example of blue color in nature is that of a clear sky during the day.
• brocade - Textile produced by brocading, typically richly figured and incorporating metal thread, often of silk.
• camelid hair - Material made from the hair of camelids, especially South American camelids such as llama and alpaca. For fiber made from camels, use "camel hair."
• Chimú
• cotton - Textile made from cotton fiber.
• geometric patterns
• gold - A range of yellowish colors, typically with undertones of red or brown, resembling the color of the lustrous metal, gold.
• Late Intermediate Period - The sixth of the seven main chronological phases recognized in Andean archaeology, generally dating ca. 1000-1450 CE, following the collapse of Middle Horizon empires, including Tiahuanaco and Huari. During this time distinctive regional cultures emerged along the coast and in highland areas, including the Chimú empire. The political entities that developed during the late Intermediate Period were subsequently conquered by the Inca empire.
• orange - Hue name for the color representing that portion of the spectrum that is intermediate between red and yellow, with wavelengths between 585 and 620 nanometers. The term may refer to any of this group of colors that vary in lightness and saturation. An example of orange color in nature is that of the citrus fruit orange, for which the color is named in modern English. It is a secondary pigment color (made by combining yellow and red).
• Peruvian - Of or belonging to the nation of Peru or its people.
• plant fiber - Any fiber obtained from plant sources, including from the bark (flax, hemp, jute), stems or leaves (abaca, sisal), and seeds (cotton). One way in which plant fibers may be distinguished is that in general they will flame when exposed to fire while animal fibers will only char.
• red - Hue name for one of the three primary additive colors; that portion of the spectrum lying at the lowest frequencies of light discernible by the human eye, with a wavelength range between 630 and 760 nanometers. The term may refer to any of this group of colors that vary in lightness and saturation. Examples of red color in nature are that of blood and ripe cherries.
• selvage - The longitudinal edge of a piece of textile closed by weft loops, often distinguished by warp ends differing from those in the body of the textile and sometimes by a change in the binding.
• South American - Refers to the cultures of the continent of South America, which is bounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, Central America, and the Antarctic region.
• step pattern - A pattern in which a series of small right angles produces a steplike edge, usually proceeding a few steps up and then down again.
• tabby - A process of weaving in which each weft thread always passes alternately over then under every successive warp thread. Both sides of such weaving are structurally identical.
• tan - A light to moderate brownish tawny color. The term originally referred to the color of crushed oak bark or tannin that is employed to tan leather.
• textiles - General term for carpets, fabrics, costume, or other works made of textile materials, which are natural or synthetic fibers created by weaving, felting, knotting, twining, or otherwise processing. For works of art or high craft that employ textile as a medium, prefer "textile art (visual works)."
• yellow - Hue name for one of the three primary subtractive colors. Represents that portion of the spectrum lying between green and orange, with a wavelength range between 565 and 590 nanometers. The term may refer to any of this group of colors that vary in lightness and saturation. Examples of yellow color in nature are that of a ripe lemon and the yolk of an egg.

This object is a member of the following portfolios: