Andean weavers, past to present, are renowned for their technical skill and diversity in textile production. This impressive patchwork textile comprises two woven panels seamed together along the center. Alternating squares of white and brown plain-weave cotton fabric are connected through double interlocked and dovetailed threads, demonstrating the high technical skill of the weaver. Based on surviving textiles and their representation on other media, such checkerboard patterns were common in the Andes for hundreds of years. The subsequent Inca Empire (1476-1534), in fact, would employ dramatic plain and decorated checkerboard patterns in their military and elite male tunics.

Adapted from

Kimberly L. Jones, PhD, Label text, 2017, A. H. Meadows Galleries.