#inca art

[arthistoryanimalia]

Coati effigy vessel Inca style, Acomayo (Department of Cuzco, Peru) c. 1400-1532 Clay & pigment, h18 x w8.50 x d32.50 cm Museo de América No. 08570

The above piece was also just added to Indigenous art section of the coatis in art image bank:

[incognito-princess]

A few of the best 'Inca inspired' masks my 3rd graders made for multicultural day.

(Medium- pasta, beans, spray paint, on poster board)

[fullslack]

Peruvian whistling vessels simulating animal calls (some of the oldest found date to c. 500–300 BCE)

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

500-year-old Snake Figure from Peru (Incan Empire), c. 1450-1532 CE: this fiber craft snake was made from cotton and camelid hair, and it has a total length of 86.4cm (about 34in)

This piece was crafted by shaping a cotton core into the basic form of a snake and then wrapping it in structural cords. Colorful threads were then used to create the surface pattern, producing a zig-zag design that covers most of the snake's body. Some of its facial features were also decorated with embroidery.

A double-braided rope is attached to the distal end of the snake's body, near the tip of its tail, and another rope is attached along the ventral side, where it forms a small loop just behind the snake's lower jaw. Similar features have been found in other serpentine figures from the same region/time period, suggesting that these objects may have been designed for a common purpose.

Very little is known about the original function and significance of these artifacts; they may have been created as decorative elements, costume elements, ceremonial props, toys, gifts, grave goods, or simply as pieces of artwork.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art argues that this figure might have been used as a prop during a particular Andean tradition:

In a ritual combat known as ayllar, snakes made of wool were used as projectiles. This effigy snake may have been worn around the neck—a powerful personal adornment of the paramount Inca and his allies—until it was needed as a weapon. The wearer would then grab the cord, swing the snake, and hurl it in the direction of the opponent. The heavy head would propel the figure forward. The simultaneous release of many would produce a scenario of “flying snakes” thrown at enemies.

The same custom is described in an account from a Spanish chronicler named Cristóbal de Albornoz, who referred to the tradition as "the game of the ayllus and the Amaru" ("El juego de los ayllus y el Amaru").

The image below depicts a very similar artifact from the same region/time period.

Why Indigenous Artifacts Should be Returned to Indigenous Communities.

Sources & More Info:

Metropolitan Museum of Art: Snake Ornament

Serpent Symbology: Representations of Snakes in Art

Journal de la Société des Américanistes: El Juego de los ayllus y el Amaru

Yale University Art Gallery: Votive Fiber Sculpture of an Anaconda

[memories-of-ancients]

Tiny silver llama, Incan, circa 1400-1534

from The Walters Art Museum

[eggsistential-breakdown]

Was inspired by this post by @mist-the-wannabe-linguist drawing the outfits from this "steal her look" bird post by @tenderanarchist, @inthefallofasparrow, @floral-hydrate, and @octy-in-boots. please click for higher quality or i'll cry

[aru-art]

happy 2nd anniversary to what continues to be the game of all time!! 🪐

[drinkinggblood]

please, please, please forget-me-not

[birdstudies]

November 24, 2024 - Gray-winged Inca-Finch (Incaspiza ortizi) Found in parts of northwestern Peru, these tanagers live in high altitude desert scrub. They eat seeds and other plant foods, as well as insects, foraging in dense vegetation on or near the ground, alone or in pairs. Little is known about their nesting behavior though their breeding season probably starts in May and nestlings and juveniles have been observed from June to September.

[juniette13]

Tried doing Chasca some justice! Wanted to mix in a cowgirl aesthetic cause the Wild West was super diverse so like why not LOL (I am horrifically obsessed with the Wild West, I just don’t show it too much 💀)

Original design for comparison:

[gr3ml1ngu7z]

Did i hear bitter exes? ☝️Here’s my design of cyberknife (ft young techno)🙏

[arthistoryanimalia]

#TwoForTuesday :

Ear Ornaments with Ibis Inca: Ica Valley, Peru south coast, 1200-1450 Gold w/ garnet inlay a: 3.5 × 4.6 cm (1 3/16 × 1 13/16 in.) b: 3.2 × 4.5 cm (1 1/4 × 1 3/4 in.) The Art Institute of Chicago 1955.2594 a-b

[artnwill]

Inca Tern Sketch- was inspired to sketch this bird after doing a rare birds puzzle that featured it

love their handlebar type mustaches

Here's what they look like..... super cute!!

[fromthedust]

Fashioned out of green diorite, the twelve-angled stone is part of the Lienzo Pétreo wall in Cuzco, an inward leaning wall that encircles the now-destroyed Palace of Hatunrumiyoc. Comprised of multiple massive stone blocks, the wall was built without the aid of mortar or any kind of binding material. Each block was cut to fit perfectly with every other surrounding block, requiring a painstaking amount of care and attention to detail. In fact, the joints of the wall are so precisely fashioned that even today, hundreds of years after it was first constructed, not even a single piece of paper can fit between any of the wall’s blocks.

While the entire wall is a sight to behold, the stone of twelve angles, so named for the twelve distinct cuts that form twelve corresponding joints, stands apart as the crown jewel of this geometric feat. It remains a popular attraction in the Peruvian city, and a longstanding testament to the Incas’ devotion to their craft.

[ancient-america]

Inca Maiden

The clothes shown here correspond to the Chuquibamba style, an allied kingdom of the Inca empire

The acllas in the Tahuantinsuyu*, were the women of greater cultural preparation. These women were recruited and then chosen to be prepared in the so-called Acllahuasis, which were in charge of the Mamaconas, as stated by the chronicler Bernabé Cobo:

"... the acllahuasi or house of chosen women was an institution that brought together the Mamaconas or Ladies Mothers who acted as teachers and a credible number of girls entering a closing regime between the ages of ten and twelve. They were collected as a tribute among the most noble and beautiful ... "

Source

*Empire of four (the Inca empire)

[memories-of-ancients]

A pair of gold beakers depicting birds in a cornfield, Inca, circa 1100-1450

from The Art Institute of Chicago