Tunic (c. 1400–1540): Art, History and Details

Tunic (c. 1400–1540) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Finely woven interlocked tapestry garments were a privilege of the nobility within the Inca Empire. Such garments were made throughout the vast Inca territory by women of noble families, by professional weavers, and by the Aclla (Chosen Women). These specialists lived in cloistered communities and served the state by brewing beer and weaving fine cloth. The products of their labor were redistributed by the Inca state as prized gifts to loyal vassals and allies. The standardized decorative scheme of this tunic, known as the Inca Key, is one of the most common Inca tunic patterns.

Object facts

• Title: Tunic
• Date: c. 1400–1540
• Culture: Peru, Inca, 15th-16th century
• Type: Textile
• Technique: tapestry; cotton and camelid fiber
• Dimensions: Average: 85.1 x 76.2 cm (33 1/2 x 30 in.)
• Collection: T - Pre-Columbian
• Department: Textiles
• Accession number: 1957.136

Collection credit

Gift of William R. Carlisle

Further reading listed by the museum

• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.