Rare Paracas Textile Doll (for a child)

**Originally Listed At $1500**

Pre-Columbian, South Coast Peru, Paracas, ca. 500 to 300 BCE. An incredibly rare textile doll comprised of tightly-woven camelid (alpaca or llama wool) fibers on the head and loose fibers on the body, all in citrine, grapefruit, chocolate, gold, emerald, turquoise, and white hues. The doll has a highly-detailed head with concentric circular eyes, a slender nose flanked by a pair of diagonal threads, a petite mouth, and a thin, collared neck, all enclosed within a radiating border of polychromatic fibers. The flowing body is composed of dozens of individual threads, the ends of which are bound together as the head of the doll. Mounted against a fabric-lined wooden frame. Size (textile): 8.25" W x 16.75" H (21 cm x 42.5 cm); size (frame): 12" W x 16" H (30.5 cm x 40.6 cm).

Dolls like this example may not have been so simplistic in their symbolism as children required protection as well. Dolls were not only a means of keeping a playful child occupied, but as a symbolic means of protection against evil spirits or natural forces that may cause harm to a child. Archaeologists have ample evidence of child-oriented play things in Pre-Columbian South America, like with the Chimu or the Chancay, though very seldom do they find dolls, toys, or evidence that such objects existed within the Paracas culture. The archaeological community does not understand the purpose of such Paracas dolls, though examples such as this may provide some insight into their underlying significance.

Provenance: private Hawaii, USA collection; ex-private H. J. Westermann collection, Germany

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#136652
Condition Report: Some fraying to threads on head and body, and light fading to pigmentation, otherwise intact and excellent.