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© Bruce M. White, 2014.
Mantle Fragment with Hummingbird Borders
© Bruce M. White, 2014.
© Bruce M. White, 2014.
© Bruce M. White, 2014.
ClassificationsArt of the Americas

Mantle Fragment with Hummingbird Borders

Place CreatedPeru, South America
CultureNasca
PeriodEarly Intermediate
Dateca. 100-200 CE
MediumCamelid fiber, natural dyes
Credit LineEx coll. C. Clay and Virginia Aldridge
Dimensions8 x 17 3/4 in. (20.3 x 45.1 cm)
Object number2002.001.003
Label Text

Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Gallery, Textile Rotation, September 2004 - March 2005
Threads of Time: Tradition and Change in Indigenous American Textiles, Michael C. Carlos Museum, August 19 - December 17, 2017
Published ReferencesMCCM Newsletter, September - November 2002.
Threads of Time: Tradition and Change in Indigenous American Textiles, 2017, http://threads-of-time.carlos.emory.edu/items/show/33.
"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. Curtice M. Clay Aldridge (1910-2003), Columbus, Georgia.
Status
Not on view
Collections
  • Art of the Americas
Technical NotesSmall samples (approximately 2mm) from the green and purple threads were analyzed using Direct Analysis in Real Time mass spectrometry (DART-MS) by the Armitage Archaeological Chemistry Research Group at Eastern Michigan University. These colors were achieved by mixing indigo with a second dye. In addition to indigotin from indigo, the mass spectrum of the green yarn showed evidence of a flavonoid, either luteolin or fisetin, and its methyl ether; these compounds are found in a variety of different yellow dyes known to have been used in South America, including chilca (or ch'illka in Quechua, a yellow dye obtained from the leaves of Baccharis species). Analysis of the purple thread revealed indigotin from indigo along with several anthraquinone compounds (purpurin, rubiadin, and xanthopurpurin) that are indicative of Relbunium, a flowering plant in the Rubiaceae family that was used for red dye.