Textiles de estilo Lambayeque en el museo etnológico de Berlin

Abstract

The Ethnologisches Museum in Berlin has a large collection of Lambayeque-style textiles from Pachacamac, most of which were collected by Wilhelm Gretzer, a German textile merchant, around 1900. Not many Lambayeque textiles have survived in their area of origin on the north coast of Peru because of unfavourable climatic conditions, but preservation is better at Pachacamac, which is on the central coast. The Lambayeque style had its greatest period between about A.D. 900 and 1100.Many of the tapestry fragments depict an anthropomorphic figure that presumably represents a Lambayeque deity or lord, but plants, animals, and people engaged in daily or ceremonial activities are even more common. Many of the plant motifs are three-dimensional, with loops projecting from a tapestry-woven surface. Many fragments include camelid fibre yarns dyed green, which is unusual among other textile styles known from pre-Hispanic Peru.This paper presents the Lambayeque textiles in Berlin and describes their techniques, dyes, clothing styles, and iconography. In addition, I identify for the first time an unusual garment that is probably a woman’s hip cloth.