Art and Materials Conservation Commons^™

Introduction Into The History Of The Textile Collection At The Ethnological Museum Berlin, Beatrix Hoffmann

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

When the Ethnological Museum at Berlin was founded, it counted already with several hundred pieces from South America. Only a minor part them belonged to pre-Columbian cultures from the Andes. While most of these pieces were ceramics almost no ancient fabrics could be found in the collection. This reflected the collector’s interests focusing on objects made of ceramic, stone or metal and on human remains. Consequently, the first pieces of fabric reached the museum at Berlin as parts of mummy cloths. This did not change until 1879, when the collection of Reiss and Stübel was acquired for the museum. It …

Analysis Of Paracas Fibre Material From The Gothenburg Collection, Anna Javér

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

Gothenburg City has in its collection, 2000-year-old textiles from the Paracas peninsula in Peru. After the exhibition ”A Stolen World” at the National Museums of World Culture in 2008, Peru asked for a repatriation of the collection. Following negotiations between the City of Gothenburg and the Ministry of Culture in Peru it was decided that the ownership of the textiles would be returned to Peru. In June 2014, the first four textiles were returned to the National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology, and History (MNAAHP) in Lima as a start of the repatriation. This was also the beginning of a collaboration …

Headdress Forms In The Paracas Necrópolis Mortuary Tradition, Ann H. Peters

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

The importance of headdress is indicated by its careful arrangement on the head of the recently deceased, display on the apex of a mortuary bundle, and prominent depiction in contemporary artifacts. In woven, embroidered or painted imagery, headdress elements include featherwork, the body of a bird or mammal, draped cloth or intertwined bands, often depicted as serpents. Due to their position above the human body, the headdresses are the most consistently preserved textile artifacts in tombs of the Paracas Necropolis mortuary tradition. Some elements appear only with men, others are found with both men and women and certain headcloths are …

Lambayeque Textile Iconography And Its Continuity In Chimu And Inca Cultures, And Its Link To Modern Ecuadorian Pujilí Corpus Christi Celebrations, Yvonne Fleitman,, Alisa Baginski

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

This paper traces the continuity of the iconography and rituals expressed in the textiles of the Late Intermediate Period (900-1470 CE) of the North Coast of Peru. We suggest a new identification for the Principal Deity of the Lambayeque culture. We propose that this image and its attributes continued to be displayed in ceremonial costumes of the later Chimu culture; that the rituals continued into the Inca Period; through the Colonial evangelization of the Americas; and even into contemporary Corpus Christi processions in Ecuador.

Iconografía textil Lambayeque y su continuidad en las culturas Chimu y Inca, y su vinculación con …

La Imagen Divina Y El Simbolismo Religioso En Textiles Del Antiguo Perú, Uwe Carlson

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

Una gran parte de los antiguos textiles peruanos muestra imágenes divinas en muchas variaciones. Estos se complementan con el simbolismo religioso de la fertilidad, que se presenta en tres alternativas diferentes y muchas variaciones. Algunas culturas también utilizaron imágenes emblemáticas divinas. En la costa del ave marina tenía un estatus casi divino, que se expresa en muchos tejidos. Textiles de las culturas del norte y del sur se acogieron al contenido de las formas de Chavín, pero encontraron sus propias variaciones. Murales, relieves, joyas y otros objetos que contienen la misma información que los textiles. La sociedad del antiguo Perú …

The Arizona Openwork (Tonto) Shirt Project, Carol James

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

In 1923 a pair of hikers came across a series of objects in a cave near the Salt River in Arizona. Among the objects was an elaborate sprang shirt, later given to the Arizona State Museum where it remains to this date. The cotton yarn in the shirt was subjected to Carbon Dating and assigned a probable origin date of the 12th century. In order to better understand the shirt, a replica was made in early 2015. Diverse technical challenges included hand spinning an appropriate cotton yarn, mapping the pattern, accurately copying the irregularities, and creating the neckline. The project …

La Conservación De Dos Fardos Funerarios Provenientes De Contextos Arqueológicos: El Caso De La Cueva Del Lazo, Ocozocoautla, Chiapas Y La Cueva De La Candelaria, Torreón, Coahuila, México, Gloria Martha Sánchez Valenzuela

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

El presente artículo se enfoca en la conservación de dos fardos funerarios localizados en diferentes cuevas dentro de la República Mexicana que, a pesar de encontrarse en polos opuestos, se conservaron gracias a las condiciones de humedad y temperatura estables dentro de un contexto seco. Lamentablemente, en ambos casos, no existe un registro minucioso del contexto (mediciones de humedad, temperatura, análisis de sedimentos, entre otros), así como de las condiciones en las que estos se encontraban (elementos asociados –restos óseos, ornamentos, posición, etc) que permitan realizar una intervención lo más fehaciente posible. Estos ingresan a la CNCPC1 completamente colapsados, después …

Structure, Design, And Gender In Inka Textiles, Blenda Femenías

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

This paper focuses on Inka textiles that apparently were made specifically for or were used by males or females in pre-Columbian times. In particular, I address relationships among tapestry-woven objects (especially those featuring tukapus, rectangular design blocks) and those created using warp-patterned structures, centering on garments and personal accessories. While there are fewer extant full-size garments associated with females than with males, the availability of a large number of miniature female-associated garments both facilitates and complicates gendered comparisons.

Estructura, Diseño y Género en Inka Textiles

Resumen -- Este ensayo se enfoca en textiles Inka que aparentemente fueron creados o utilizados …

The World On A Whorl: Considerations On Aztec Spindle Whorl Iconography, Jesper Nielsen

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

An unpublished collection of Aztec (Late Postclassic central Mexico, ca. 1400-1520) spindle whorls (totaling 33 items) with rich iconographic embellishment is the focus of this paper, which will discuss a set of recurring iconographic themes, such as the ’sun disk’, ’eagles’, ’jade disks or chalchihuites’ and ’cloud-scrolls’, on the whorls. Previous treatments of spindle whorl imagery have tended to regard such motifs merely as decoration, but here I suggest that the repertoire at hand indicate a limited scope of motifs that share some cosmological and religious significance. In a broader perspective these observations point to the potential mythological underpinnings of …

Nasca Textiles Of South Peru, Los Molinos, Sector B. Analysis And Insights, Daniela Biermann

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

In a northern sector of the administrative centre of Los Molinos, studied by the PALPA Project under the leadership of Dr. Markus Reindel (KAAK Bonn) and Lic. Johny Isla Cuadrado (Institudo Andino de Estudios Arqueológicos, Lima), textile fragments were found in undisturbed strata dating to the Early and Middle Nasca Phase (325-620 AD). Archaeological data indicates that this area was a location used for ritual ceremonies. Detailed analysis, together with exact archaeological evidence offer an overview of the nature and quality of these remnants within the broad spectrum of material and textile analysis techniques. Could these findings provide us with …

The Curious Case Of Sir Henry Wellcome’S Wooden Statuette Clad In Tie-Dyed Wari Cloth, Penelope Dransart

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

A wooden statuette clad in small-scale garments made from a Wari style tie-dyed textile joined the collections of the City of Liverpool Public Museum (now National Museums Liverpool) in 1951 along with other items distributed by the trustees of the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum. This article discusses Wari style tie-dyed tunics as part of an ensemble of garments. It explores the character of the Wari period textile (c. AD 600-1000) used for dressing the statuette, its similarity to textiles in the Fowler Museum at the University of California, Los Angeles and the Museo Nacional de Arqueología, Antropología e Historia del …

Trajes De Poder. Los Conjuntos Chimú Con Borlas, Victòria Solanilla

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

A raíz de la puesta en marcha del Museo de Culturas del Mundo (MCM) de Barcelona, inaugurado en febrero de 2015, y conocedores de que entre las piezas procedentes de América precolombina había una camisa con borlas Chimú perteneciente a la Colección Folch, creímos que sería interesante estudiarla. Por otro lado, en una reunión que se realizó en Basilea en marzo de 2014, con motivo de la puesta al día del grupo que formamos los integrantes del proyecto Corpus Antiquitatum Americanensium perteneciente a la Unión Académica Internacional, en la que participaron conservadores de las secciones de América de los principales …

Hallazgo De Una Ofrenda Textil Con Material Horizonte Tardío E Inca Local En El Valle Medio De Pisco, Luis Peña Callirgos

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

Durante la ejecución del Proyecto de Evaluación Arqueológica del Poliducto Camisea –TGP. Variante Pisco, se intervino uno de los sitios denominado Alto Huayanga I, en donde se realizó el hallazgo de una ofrenda textil en muy buen estado de conservación que pertenecería al Horizonte Tardío o Inca local para el valle medio de Pisco.

Finding a Textile Offering with Late Horizon and Local Inca Material in the Middle Valley of Pisco

Abstract -- During the execution of the Archaeological Evaiuation Project for the Camisea – TGP [Liquid Natural Gas] Pipeline, Pisco Variant, work was carried out at one of the …

Pre-Columbian Textile Structures At Castillo De Huarmey, Peru, Aleksandra Laszczka, Jeffrey C. Splitstoser, Miłosz Giersz

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

Systematic excavations at the Castillo de Huarmey archaeological site, located on the North Coast of Peru, enabled researchers to collect an immense number of fabrics. During the first season of textile investigations, carried out in July of 2014 by American and Polish researchers, 724 objects were examined, including textile fragments, yarns, and cordage. A general description of the basic structures indicates a variety of weaving techniques. Although the collection consists mainly of plain weave of all kinds, new structures such as three-dimensional cross-knit looping and feather-mosaic work were recognized, none of which were encountered among textiles collected from the surface …

Tocados Del Horizonte Medio Al Intermedio Tardío En La Costa Central: Una Visión Desde El Valle De Asia, Perú (Siglos Vii-Xii D.C.), Rommel Angeles Falcón

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

Las excavaciones arqueológicas efectuadas en Huaca Malena, valle de Asia, costa central del Perú, permitieron recuperar una gran cantidad de finos tejidos del periodo Wari correspondiente a los siglos VII al XI d.C. donde destaca una gran variedad de adornos de cabeza o tocados elaborados en fibra de camélido, cestería y plumas destacando finas bandas constituyendo una extraordinaria muestra de la variedad de tocados existentes durante el Horizonte Medio. Se han identificado 18 tipos de tocados la mayoría asociados al sexo masculino y en menor grado al femenino, algunos de estilos locales y otros probablemente de otras regiones de los …

Introduction, Contents, Covers, Lena Bjerregaard, Ann H. Peters

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

No abstract provided.

Precolumbian Textile Conference Vii / Jornadas De Textiles Precolombinos Vii, Lena Bjerregaard, Ann H. Peters

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

Contents:

Introduction — Lena Bjerregaard and Ann Peters

Mexico

1. Mesoamerican Archaeological Textiles: An Overview of Materials, Techniques, and Contexts — Laura Filloy Nadal

2. Urdimbres enlazadas de Mesoamérica. Textil de la Cueva del Gallo, Morelos, México — Patricia Ochoa Castillo & Rosa Lorena Román Torres •

3. Los textiles procedentes del actual estado de Guerrero, México: una revisión a su estudio desde la perspectiva arqueológica y etnohistórica — Elizabeth Jiménez García

4. Classic Textiles from Cueva del Lazo (Chiapas, Mexico). Archaeological context and conservation issues — Davide Domenici & Gloria Martha Sánchez Valenzuela

5. Textiles y otros materiales arqueológicos …

Mexica Textiles: Archaeological Remains From The Sacred Precincts Of Tenochtitlan And Tlatelolco, Leonardo López Luján, Salvador Guilliem Arroyo

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

In contrast with the rich written and iconographical data from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries concerning Mexica textiles, discoveries of such materials in archaeological contexts in Mexico City are quite rare. This paucity is reflected in our archaeological collections, in spite of the fact that the imperial Mexica capital received in tribute and trade copious amounts of unprocessed cotton, thread, cord, fabric, and clothing, and that the sister cities, Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco, were bustling centers of textile production. The few Mexica examples extant today are in poor condition and have survived thanks to being carbonized during rituals prior to their …

Los Textiles Procedentes Del Actual Estado De Guerrero, México: Una Revisión A Su Estudio Desde La Perspectiva Arqueológica Y Etnohistórica, Elizabeth Jiménez García

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

En cuevas del actual estado de Guerrero, México, se han encontrado diversos objetos orgánicos como calabazos, cordeles, guaraches, madera, semillas y hojas. Asimismo, se han recuperado fragmentos de textiles que fueron elaborados con distintas técnicas, pigmentos y texturas que dan cuenta de una especialización e intensa actividad económica en tiempos prehispánicos. En el México antiguo los textiles tuvieron múltiples funciones. Fueron muy utilizados como indumentaria de nobles y dioses, formaron parte de rituales y cubrieron objetos sagrados que se guardaron celosamente en templos, palacios y casas de los señores. También tapizaron paredes y se les colocó como doseles, tapetes, colchas, …

Review Of Martens, Sacred Scraps: Quilt And Patchwork Traditions Of Central Asia, Carol Bier

Textile Research Works

Sacred Scraps: Quilt and Patchwork Traditions of Central Asia

Author: Christine Martens

Published by: International Quilt Study Center & Museum, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2017.

Drawing upon years of extensive travel, field research, and personal interviews with craftsmen and scholars in Central Asia, Chris Martens has produced a magnificent book to accompany the 2017 exhibition at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska, for which she served as guest curator. This book, and the exhibition, documents the prolific quilt and patchwork traditions of Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Funds for travel, research, and systematic collecting came from …

Review Of The Cultural Legacy Of Uzbekistan In World Collections Conference, Michele Hardy, Carol Bier

Textile Research Works

In May 2017, over 370 scholars convened in Tashkent and Samarkand, Uzbekistan, to share their research and mark the publication of an important new series of handsomely produced volumes. Among the participants were former TSA President, Carol Bier, and past TSA Board Member, Michele Hardy. The Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in World Collections is a ten-volume series that documents the richness and diversity of Uzbek tangible and intangible heritage, particularly in the collections of international museums. The volumes-each lavishly illustrated, trilingual (Uzbek, Russian, and English), and beautifully bound-examine some of the richest collections of Uzbek art and culture: the Tretyakov …

Provenance Investigations Of Raw Materials In Pre-Columbian Textiles From Pachacamac; Strontium Isotope Analyses, Karin Margarita Frei, Lena Bjerregaard

PreColumbian Textile Conference VII / Jornadas de Textiles PreColombinos VII (2016)

Pachacamac was considered a sanctuary or oracle by several of the pre-Columbian Andean cultures. As a pilgrimage destination, the site was rich in archaeological artifacts and yielded also many well preserved textiles. Some of the objects found at Pachacamac are considered offerings by the pilgrims to their Gods, and the majority are assumed to be of nonlocal origin. Others are from the Ychsma people, who lived in Pachacamac and the nearby Rimac Valley during the last centuries before the conquest. We have investigated 10 pre-Columbian textile samples, which were supposedly excavated at the archaeological site of Pachacamac, Peru. The textiles …

Algorithmic Aesthetics: Redefining Traditional Islamic Art, Carol Bier

Textile Research Works

The recent exhibition, “Reverberating Echoes: Contemporary Art Inspired by Traditional Islamic Art,” organized by the Center for the Arts & Religion at the Graduate Theological Union afforded an opportunity for me as curator to reconsider the definition of ‘traditional Islamic art.’ This effort led to the identification of an algorithmic aesthetic of pattern that characterizes artistic production in all media from the 9th through the 12th centuries in what were then Islamic lands, centered in Baghdad, but extending from Spain across North Africa through the Middle East and Iran to Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent.

Reframing Islamic Art For The 21st Century, Carol Bier

Textile Research Works

The celebrated Islamic galleries at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York reopened in 2011 as “Galleries for the Art of Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia.” Other major collections of Islamic art have been reorganized and reinstalled in Berlin, Cairo, Cleveland, Copenhagen, Detroit, Kuwait, London, Los Angeles, Paris, and Singapore, and new museums of Islamic art have been established in Doha, Qatar; Honolulu, Hawaii; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Sharjah, U.A.E. In addition, the first museum in North America dedicated to Islamic art recently opened in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This article explores this global phenomenon, …

Alloys And Architecture: Periodic And Quasiperiodic Patterns In Sinan's Selimiye In Edirne, Carol Bier

Textile Research Works

The marble minbar of the Selimiye mosque in Edirne that was designed by the Ottoman architect, Sinan, and completed in 1575, bears a circular medallion of carved and pierced openwork in each of its triangular framing walls. The carved circular patterns are unusual in having radial symmetry with local five-fold and ten-fold rotations, but no periodic repeat. This contribution explores the relationship of this late 16th-century design to a similar array generated by X-ray diffraction of aluminum alloys, identified as a quasiperiodic pattern, which garnered the 2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The 16th-century appearance of this pattern in an architectural …

Review Of Designing Identity: The Power Of Textiles In Late Antiquity. Edited By Thelma K. Thomas, Carol Bier

Textile Research Works

Designing Identity: The Power of Textiles in Late Antiquity. Edited by Thelma K. Thomas, with contributions by Jennifer L. Ball, Edward Bleiberg, Kathrin Colburn, Helen C. Evans, Christine Kondoleon, Brandie Ratliff, Thelma K. Thomas, Elizabeth D. Williams. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press and Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University, 2016. 152 p. ISBN: 978-0691169422

This beautifully illustrated book, edited by textile historian Thelma K. Thomas, Associate Professor at NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts, advances scholarship on textiles of Late Antiquity with interpretive essays by curators, conservators, and historians. As a scholarly contribution offering …

Review Of Woven Luxuries: Indian, Persian, Turkish Velvets From The Indictor Collection, Carol Bier

Textile Research Works

LUXURIANT AND extravagant are words that come to mind to describe the sheen of brightly coloured velvets on display in this small but stellar exhibition at San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum, on view to 1 November. The exhibition presents an exceptional private collection of exquisitely designed velvets woven in lands of the Mughal, Safavid, and Ottoman empires during the 15th through 17th centuries. Robust blossoms, sinuous vines, and stylised flowers are among the many designs that characterise Mughal, Safavid and Ottoman textiles, including sumptuous velvets with raised pile and metallic threads that shimmer in changing light. Together the products of …

Review Of Eric Broug, Islamic Geometric Design, Carol Bier

Textile Research Works

From the eleventh century C.E., Islamic geometric patterns have continued to evolve in complexity, contributing a distinct aspect of Islamic art and architecture that covers a broad geographic range and temporal spectrum. The underlying principles of these patterns are brilliantly explained in narrative and visual formats by Eric Broug, a Dutch design professional, self-trained and with an M.A. in the history of Islamic architecture from SOAS in London. Offering both an analytical and practical understanding of the construction of Islamic geometric patterns, this book is an unusual hybrid of scholarship and art, combining the qualities of a coffeetable bibelot and …

Geometry: Drawing From The Islamic Tradition, Carol Bier

Textile Research Works

Getting students involved in careful observation and analysis and encouraging their exploration of cultural forms of expression is an excellent means of introducing mathematical ideas. Geometric patterns abound in Islamic art and architecture. Exhibiting great ingenuity over the centuries, Muslim artists and craftsmen created beautiful patterns to adorn architectural monuments and exquisite objects. The Alhambra in Spain and the Taj Mahal in India offer the most famous examples of extraordinary patterns using brick and glazed tile, or carved and inlaid marble. Other examples of patterns are made using metal, wood, and fiber. Students may gain conceptual and theoretical understanding of …

Inscribed Cotton Ikat From Yemen In The Tenth Century Ce, Carol Bier

Textile Research Works

More than a thousand years ago, Baghdad was capital of the Islamic empire under the Abbasid caliphs, and Yemen was a flourishing center of agriculture and trade. Among its famous products were dyestuffs, and cotton cloth with warp stripes, patterned using techniques of compression resist. As the strength of the Abbasid caliphate declined and claims to power gained hold in the provinces, regional artistic styles began to emerge. The rulers of Yemen adopted one of the prerogatives of the Abbasid caliphs, bestowing honor by rewarding their subjects with inscribed textiles called tiraz. From burial sites in Egypt, many such textiles …