The remarkable civilization of the Incas or Peruvians, is shown in the many splendid objects of the industrial arts now treasured in our museums. Of these relics of a vanished civilization, the textile
PERUVIAN TEXTILES. [Plate 40.]
PERUVIAN TEXTILES. [Plate 41.]
fabrics are, perhaps, the most instructive and interesting. The high technical skill of the craftsmanship, the fine spinning of the wool and cotton, and the perfection of the dyeing of the yarn, together with the skilful weaving of the figured cloths and tapestries are a tribute to the vitality and civilization of a people remote from all Asiatic or European influences.
Many of the fabrics are of double cloth, of deep brown and pale straw colour, and show the same colour and pattern on both sides of the cloth. Some of the fabrics are tapestry woven, having short strands of coloured wool inserted into the fabric by the aid of the needle, and they somewhat resemble the Gobelin tapestry in their method of production.
A few of these Peruvian cotton fabrics are ornamented by means of tied or knotted work, identical with the Bandhana or knotted work termed Chunti Cloth, of the North-west province of India. These knotted patterns consist of simple spots arranged in square, zig-zag or curved lines. The pattern is first marked with a red earth on the plain fabric; then the pattern or spots are tied up tightly with cotton thread and the whole dipped in the dye which only acts on the untied portions of the cloth; a white pattern on a coloured ground is thus produced, both sides being alike.