These Peruvian textiles are remarkable for the absence of the beautiful flora of Peru as elements for decoration. The fylfot or fret is a frequent form of enrichment ([plates 40]-[41].) The wave scroll so typical of Greek work is also a remarkable element in Peruvian ornament, and illustrates the singular development of the same ideas and aspect of form among people so remote from each other as the Greeks and Peruvians.
But the patterns that sharply differentiate Peruvian examples from all other styles are the conventional treatments of figures, birds, fishes and animals. The llama is conspicuous in many patterns, but the bird forms are the most remarkable, having many variations of type and treatment. Illustrations are given in [plates 40] and [41], all taken from the Smithies Loan Collection at Manchester. Other examples of these interesting fabrics may be seen in the Smithies collection at South Kensington, showing the wonderful diversity of the treatment of pattern designing by a people so remote as the Peruvians.
It is difficult to fix any date for these Peruvian examples, but as it is known that during the reign of Inca Pachacutic (circa 1390), the ceramic art was at its best, we may assume that the sister art of weaving reached its perfection about the same period, and continued until the Spanish Conquest in the 16th century.
FRETS. [Plate 42.]
FRETS.
The remarkable universality of the fret, the simplicity and rhythm of detail, its adaptability and usefulness for surface enrichment, have made the fret one of the best known forms of ornamentation. It was used in the surface decorations of the tombs of Egypt, the temples of Greece, and the civic and domestic buildings of Rome.
The Greek form with its right-angular and equally-spaced keys was used on the simple abacus and plain fascias of the Dorian architecture, in bands upon the painted vases, and in a concentric form when used in the interior of the red-figured circular cylix. The Romans, without imparting freshness, used the same right-angled key pattern, chiefly as borders for mosaic pavements and upon the horizontal soffits of their architecture. The Byzantine using the same type in conjunction with the cross and circle gave more significance to the fret.
The Arabian fret differs in the use of the oblique line together with the right-angled key, obtaining a wonderful degree of complexity and richness.