Butterfly-shaped Inca textile fragment with deep red field, small motifs, and a checkerboard border of black, cream, ochre and maroon on a cream background.

Inca Tunic Shoulder Fragment (Uncu), Checkerboard Tapestry Weave

A butterfly-shaped textile fragment, probably from the shoulder of a tunic, shows a deep red field with small colored motifs above a checkerboard border in black, cream, ochre and maroon. The fringed edges and worn areas suggest its age, and the weave is tightly interlocked against a plain cream ground.

Artist: Inca
Date: 1550-1625
Medium: Cotton and wool (camelid), single interlocking tapestry weave with eccentric wefts
Source: Art Institute of Chicago
Size: 1686 × 1376 px

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Public domain · Art Institute of Chicago releases this image under CC0 (latest date 1700).
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: CC0 (Art Institute of Chicago, is_public_domain=true)

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Art Institute of Chicago, Bessie Bennett Endowment

pre-columbian art andes geometric motif camelid wool checkerboard pattern