Woven Band

Possibly used as part of a turban or a border for a larger textile, this woven band is typical of Tiahuanaco garments in its use of repeated motifs. It is believed that some of these motifs were emblems of rank and the social position of the wearer. This may be why some motifs are seen so often, representing lower rank, and others are seen very rarely.

1961, Indiana University Art Museum purchase from Origins, Boston, MA [1]

Unidentified date, Origins Gallery acquires, Boston, MA

Unidentified dates, unidentified owner(s), possibly in Bolivia and/or other places [2]

Notes
[1] Documentation of this acquisition identifies this work as #248BS6198 from Origins Gallery (Eskenazi Museum records).

[2] We do not yet know how many changes in ownership transpired between when this artwork was first made and owned to when Origins Gallery acquired it. This absence of documentation on ownership history within the cultures where the artworks were made and used is part of a larger history of collecting practices that did not record prior ownership among communities of origin.

Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

March 23–April 15, 1966, "Traditional Textiles," Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, IN

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"Woven Band | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2025. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=61.107