A Colonial Peruvian tapestry panel

acquired by the present owner in 1965

With very minor surface abrasions. Small slit/hole at color change in upper innder narrow band. A few scattered minor restitched holes; not extrensive. Small scattered spot stains. Sides complete, ends complete and secured with binding stitch. In good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This finely-woven tapestry panel is most likely a fragment from a woman's wedding mantle, or lliclla. The decoration of such mantles was generally made up of a number of wide horizontal fields separated by narrower bands. These broader sections, or pampas, and thinner bands, or pallai, were most often executed in juxtaposing colors to clearly differentiate them from each other, resulting in a wonderfully rhythmic composition. As this lot illustrates, the pampa was generally decorated with free-flowing elements, such as snakes, birds and mythical beasts, whereas the pallai were woven with interlocking designs, which were either geometrical or curvilinear and naturalistic. The stylized vases found on this fragment suggest a close attention to contemporaneous European designs, as adapted by native weavers in a tradition going back to the sixteenth century. The flowers issued by these urns are executed in a similar manner to the undulating floral vine motifs, or cantu, found in the outer pallai of this panel. The inclusion of exotic birds in the pampa here recalls an ancient Andean association between women, particularly Inka noblewomen, and certain birds. The lace edgings attached to the inner sides of the pallai of this fragment help date this lot. In the 1700s actual lace decoration on native women's garments were considered excessive and special laws were introduced to regulate them. Women of mixed heritage were allowed up two pieces of lace on their garbs, while indigenous people were forbidden to adorn their clothes with lace. To circumvent these restrictions, native women had designs derived from European lacework woven into their mantles as early as the beginning of the eighteenth century. A comparable lliclla with similar woven lace edging and exotic birds dating from the 1700s is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, see Elena Phipps et al., The Colonial Andes, New York, 2004, p.355, pl. 150.  Coverlets with variations of the lace edging design are in the Museum of Fine Art, Boston, see Adolph Cavallo, Tapestries of Europe and of Colonial Peru in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Vol. II, Boston, 1967, pls. 64-66. A mantle with a strictly geometrical pallai design is in the same collection, see ibid., pl. 61. A mantle from the eighteenth century with similar vine motif in its pallai and comparable urns in its pampas is now in the American Museum of Natural History, see Phipps, op. cit., p. 355. pl. 151.