Tunic

Weaving an Empire 

Observing a 1532 meeting between the Inca emperor Atahualpa (ca. 1502–1533) and Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, historian Francisco de Jerez noted that the first arriving members of the Inca entourage wore “livery in the form of a chessboard.” The ownership and use of fine tapestry-woven tunics would have been closely controlled by the Inca state. Only those who received such gifts—including warriors who distinguished themselves on the battlefield and diplomats who assisted Inca rulers seeking to expand their vast territory—were allowed to wear them. The Inca also strictly regulated the tunics’ production; surviving examples display remarkably little variation in size. Woven by select groups of female and male artists working in residential centers, tunics have been found across the Inca Empire, from the capital of Cusco to faraway provinces.