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Textile Doll
(Ancient Americas )
Often referred to as dolls for their diminutive size and simplified imagery, these wood figures dressed in carefully crafted garments are frequently found in tombs from ancient Peru. Because there are no written records from this time period, their precise meaning and significance is not known. However, it's theorized that these figures represent those interred in the tomb or their family members. This particular example shows a female, wearing a long dress, not unlike those known from the later Inca period, when women pinned textiles at their shoulders something like Roman togas. The meaning of the staring eyes and brightly colored faces of these figures is unknown.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Andy and Von Long, Denver, Colorado, between the 1960s and 1980s [mode of acquisition unknown]; Private collection, 1989 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 2009, by gift.
Geographies
Peru (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 12 x W: 5 1/2 x D: 1 1/2 in. (30.5 x 14 x 3.8 cm)
Credit Line
Anonymous gift, 2009
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
83.768