ClassificationsArt of the Americas

Fan

Place CreatedBrazil, South America

CultureChimu

PeriodLate Intermediate

Date1282-1384 CE

MediumCotton, feathers, plant fiber (furcrea andina)

Credit LineGift of Katherine Kelly

Dimensions13 3/8 x 14 7/8 in. (34 x 37.8 cm)

Object number1992.021.001

Exhibition HistoryThreads of Time: Tradition and Change in Indigenous American Textiles, Michael C. Carlos Museum, August 19 - December 17, 2017
Published ReferencesThreads of Time: Tradition and Change in Indigenous American Textiles, 2017, http://threads-of-time.carlos.emory.edu/items/show/1.
"Dialogues in Thread: the Quechua Concepts of Ayni, Ukhu, Tinku, Q'iwa, and Ushay," Threads of Time: Tradition and Change in Indigenous American Textiles, 2017, http://threads-of-time.carlos.emory.edu/exhibits/show/essays/dialoguesinthread.

ProvenanceEx coll. Katherine Kelly (1925-2009), Atlanta, Georgia and Pawleys Island, South Carolina.

Status

Not on view

Collections

Art of the Americas

Technical NotesThe feathers in the fan are tied with braided and twisted cord made of plant fiber. Small transverse and cross-section samples of the plant fibers were examined with transmitted light using a polarizing light microscope. Compared with known reference samples, the overall kidney-bean shape of the cross-section as well as the structure and arrangement of the vascular bundles suggests identification as Furcraea andina or a similar species. A small sample of this plant fiber was analyzed by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and stable isotope ratio analysis at the University of Georgia Center for Applied Isotope Studies. The resulting radiocarbon (C-14) calibrated date is between 1282-1384 CE.