Head Cloth

1000–1460s

Head Cloth, 1000–1460s. Central Andes, central coast, Chancay people. Cotton; overall: 99.1 x 99.1 cm (39 x 39 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2017.60 This lovely, sheer panel—patterned entirely with tie-dyeing—was probably worn as a head cloth, a common article of women’s wear among the Chancay people of Peru’s central coast. Its colors are reminiscent of deep twilight, when the sky turns a luminous, dark blue and a shimmer of orange light appears on the horizon. It is not known whether the squares in the field have symbolic significance. It is unknown whether Chancay head cloths were part of larger clothing ensembles.