Spindle with s-shapes and dots on whorl
- DATE:
- 1100–1450
- MATERIAL AND TECHNIQUE:
- Wood, ceramic, and paints
- CLASSIFICATION:
- Tools and Equipment
- DIMENSIONS:
- 11 1/2 × 1/2 × 1/2 in. (29.21 × 1.27 × 1.27 cm)
- DEPARTMENT:
- Arts of the Americas
- LOCATION:
- Not On View
- CREDIT LINE:
- Dallas Museum of Art, the Nora and John Wise Collection, bequest of John Wise
- OBJECT NUMBER:
- 1983.W.1839
General Description
Textiles are some of the finest and most specialized arts of the Andes, providing fundamental information regarding regional production, developed techniques, and adopted styles. This implement represents one of the principal tools used in textile manufacture for spinning and plying thread. A spindle serves to spin natural fiber into thread or plied yarn; a whorl at one end provides the weight necessary to advance the spin.
Excerpt from
Kimberly L. Jones, PhD, Inca: Conquests of the Andes / Los Incas y las conquistas de los Andes, Label text [1983.W.1815; 1983.W.1818; 1983.W.1821; 1983.W.1809; 1983.W.1812.a–b; 1983.W.1835; 1983.W.1839], 2015.
Fun Facts
- In his 1976 report, Junius B. Bird, curator emeritus of South American archaeology at the American Museum of Natural History, notes: "Period Uncertain - Miscellaneous. No number. 9 spindles (see Chimu list for spindle rest)."