The four-cornered hat was a popular high-status headdress in the south-central and southern Andean highlands among Huari (Wari) and Tiahuanaco (Tiwanaku) elites. The finest Tiahuanaco examples are of continuous tapestry weave, while the Huari examples reflect separate weaving of the band and top. The piling of supplemental fibers through lark’s head knots is common to Huari hats. In this example, the hat is woven with cotton and camelid fiber in an elaborate figural design common to headbands.

Adapted from

Kimberly L. Jones, PhD, Inca: Conquests of the Andes / Los Incas y las conquistas de los Andes, Label text [1976.W.2013; 1976.W.2014; 1976.W.2056], 2015.