Fabulous Huari Wood, Fiber, & Textile Helmet w/ Face

Pre-Columbian, South Coast Peru, Huari (Wari) culture, ca. 700 to 1000 CE. A gorgeous helmet or shamanic hat formed from several lengthy wooden planks that are bound together with tightly woven strands of camelid (alpaca or llama wool) fibers. The exterior is embellished with dozens of colorful cords - comprised of fibrous strands wrapped with camelid fiber thread - which create a unique presentation. An abstract anthropomorphic visage peers out from the front of the helmet with concentric rectangular eyes, a slender nose, and a petite mouth, and a tuft of marigold-yellow thread creates a minimalist coiffure on top. The lower periphery is lined with alternating horizontal red and yellow stripes, and a small opening in the front allows the wearer to see out. Size: 7.5" L x 11.75" W x 9.5" H (19 cm x 29.8 cm x 24.1 cm).

Textiles and items containing woven textile materials were some of the most valuable items in Huari culture as they probably exacted them as tribute from the peoples they conquered. This makes it difficult for archaeologists to identify where these beautiful objects were originally woven, because they travelled so much around the Huari Empire. Huari textile helmets like this example were likely formed by hand after weaving the colorful threads on a rectangular loom. Most of these are made with either white cotton or camelid fiber (alpaca) or some combination of both. The textiles that are preserved today are often from the desert areas between the Pacific Coast and the Andes; the Huari capital, in the highlands, was too wet to preserve cloth through the centuries, and as a result, textile & wood helmets like this are exceedingly rare.

Provenance: private Tucson, Arizona, USA collection, acquired between 1950 and 1985

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#147563 Dimensions: Condition Report: Loosening and fraying to some interior and exterior fibers, with loosening to some interior wooden panels, fading and light staining to some exterior pigments, and slight bending to overall form, otherwise intact and very good. Light earthen deposits throughout, and colors are still visible and vibrant.