Turban (1485–1640 (radiocarbon date, 95.4% probability)): Art, History and Details

Turban (1485–1640 (radiocarbon date, 95.4% probability)) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

Chimú garments like this one consist of a large, rectangular central section—here measuring some 65 inches by 50 inches—with decorated tabs stitched to two opposite corners. Such garments probably were worn as turbans but we do not understand exactly how. For the purpose of display, the plain central section of this example has been folded to form a wide band, with the tabs arranged on either side.

Object facts

• Title: Turban
• Date: 1485–1640 (radiocarbon date, 95.4% probability)
• Culture: Peru, North Coast, Chimú style
• Type: Garment
• Technique: Cotton; plain weave, brocaded and complex alternating gauze with 5 shots of plain weave between gauze shots
• Dimensions: Overall: 139.7 x 139.7 cm (55 x 55 in.)
• Collection: T - Pre-Columbian
• Department: Textiles
• Accession number: 2005.5.3

A detail from the museum

The white cotton yarns used to make this textile are only 0.1 to 0.2 millimeters in diameter.

Collection credit

Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Rowe, Ann Pollard, and John P. O'Neill. Costumes & featherwork of the Lords of Chimor: textiles from Peru's north coast. 1984.

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.