Tunics, known as uncu in the language of the Incas (an ancestor of the present-day Quechua language), were the primary element of men’s attire in the Andes, and were worn over a simple loincloth.

Finely-made textiles from the best materials were objects of high status among nearly all Andean cultures, much more valuable than gold or gems. The All-T’oqapu Tunic is an example of the height of Andean textile fabrication and its centrality to Inka expressions of power.

Worn by men over a loincloth, such garments were one of the primary markers of identity in the Inca Empire. This type of tunic was first mentioned in 1532 by Francisco de Jerez, secretary to the conquistador Francisco Pizarro.

Jun 13, 2024 · With stitches as dense as an iPad’s pixels, this woven tunic represents the pinnacle of Inca artistry. The brutal Spanish conquest and the unforgiving march of time have destroyed most Inca textiles, but the tunic now at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C., survived.

The most famous work of Andean art in the world is an enigmatic tunic in the collection of Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, DC. Thought to be the only surviving royal vestment of the Inca Empire, it has spawned controversial theories that its …

May 14, 2024 · The most celebrated Andean artwork in the world is a five-hundred-year-old Inca tunic made famous through theories about the meanings of its intricate designs, including attempts to read them as a long-lost writing system.

Tunics with a diamond-pattern at the waist are one type of some half-dozen standardized designs known from the Inca Empire, the polity that dominated much of western South America in what is known as the Late Horizon period (AD 1470–1532).

Before considering the possible colonial life of the imperial Inca tunic, it is necessary to attempt to understand its tocapus, how they were created, and their reception in Inca society.

The design on this tunic is referred to as the “Inca key checkerboard” pattern, and it is one of five standardized tunic styles produced by specialized Inca weavers.

Finely-made textiles from the best materials were objects of high status among nearly all Andean cultures, much more valuable than gold or gems. The All-T’oqapu Tunic is an example of the height of Andean textile fabrication and its centrality to Inka expressions of power.