PERU, LATE 17TH/EARLY 18TH CENTURY

After the Spanish Conquest in Peru (1526-1572), imperial Inca control of tapestry production was almost immediately replaced by Spanish patronage, and Andean tapestry traditions were dramatically transformed during the 16th century. Rather than simply copying foreign models and design conceits, colonial weavers creatively combined traditional techniques, materials, and patterns with European forms and motifs to produce a corpus of tapestries that are a unique expression of colonial aesthetic values. Many of these tapestries were woven with a red ground color and filled with small scale animals and flowers. The two largest bands of this fragment share a similar motif that is found in a larger Colonial tapestry in the Textile Museum, Washington D.C. (James W. Reid, 'The Age of the Viceroy', Hali, August 1989, Issue 46, p.26).

With the development of trade routes via the Philippines after 1565, the Peruvians came into contact with Chinese silks and textiles. New patterns and motifs began to emerge such as the rosette found in the central narrow band of this tapestry. Similar rosettes can be found in other tapestries of the period, most notably one in the collection of The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston ('Exhibitions', Hali, August 1995, Issue 82, p. 107, fig. 4).