Style Imitating Art: Feathered Tunic-Ancient Chimú Textile

About Style Imitating Art

Style Imitating Art is hosted by Salazar of 14 Shades of Grey, Terri of MeadowTree Style, and Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge. Style Imitating Art challenges us to draw style inspiration from pieces of art. Every other Monday, one of the hosts, acting as curator, selects an inspiration image that they will each post on their blogs. The following Monday, each host shares her art inspired outfit. Participants are invited to submit their art inspired outfits to the curator by 10:00 p.m. EST on the Tuesday following the hosts’ art inspired outfit posts. The following day, Wednesday, the curator will share all of the submissions on her blog.

You don’t have to be a blogger to join! You are invited to share your images on Instagram or other social media platforms. Just be sure to tag Salazar, Terri, and Shelbee or use #TeamLOTSStyle and #StyleImitatingArt so the hosts know you have joined. Go have some fun in your closets and join the SIA challenge next week!

The Inspiration Artwork

The inspiration artwork was chosen by Terri. You can read why she picked this work here.

The Artwork

Chimú Feathered Tunic

About the Artist: 15th-16th Century Chimú Weavers

The Kingdom of Chimor, otherwise known as the Chimú culture, flourished along the northern Peruvian coast between the 12th and 15th centuries. Chimor was the largest and most prosperous culture during the Late Intermediate Period, eventually becoming the second largest empire in the history of the ancient Andes, encompassing 620 miles (1,000 km) of coastline. Their approach to regional governance, their style of architecture, and their art greatly influenced their more famous successors, the Incas. You, of course, can read all about these cultures and how the Incas took down Chimor on Wikipedia. I am going to address only the history of textiles in Chimor.

In the creation of textiles, the Chimú people used a spindle to form the thread which was used to weave their various fabrics. The fabrics were generally made from the wool of four different animals (guanaco, llama, alpaca, and vicuna) as well as a variety of natural cottons that grow in seven different colors. However, the majority of their garments were constructed from alpaca wool and cotton. Colored dyes were made from various native plants, minerals, and animals. The basic garment styles of the Chimú people were the loincloth, sleeveless shirts with or without fringes, small ponchos, and tunics.

This culture was known for adorning their fabrics with embellishments such as embroidery, brocade, and paints. They also used gold and silver plates to ornament garments and feathers were commonly sewn into their textiles as well. Tropical feathers have been found in use on Chimú garments, including the tunic here, providing evidence that long distance trade existed during this period.

The Chimor empire came to an end with the rise of the Incas in 1470 when Tupac Yupanqui captured the 11th known Chimú ruler, Minchançaman. In the wake of his capture, king Minchançaman was kept a permanent prisoner of the Incas to ensure compliance with the new order and the Chimú became a vassal state in the Inca Empire.

About the Art: Ancient Chimú Feathered Tunic

This ancient feather tunic was discovered in a 15th century Chimú tomb on the southern coast of Peru, possibly the Nazca Valley. It is made from a plain weave cotton which is embellished with feathers that are knotted and attached with cotton in overcast stitches. Its dimensions are 33 1/2 × 33 7/8 in (85.1 × 86 cm).

The tunic was first known to be in the possession of Eduard Gaffron of Lima, Peru, and Berlin, from 1892-1931. Upon his death, it was passed onto to his children, Mercedes Gaffron of Berlin and Durham, South Carolina, and Han Gaffron of Berlin and Chicago, Illinois. The children sold the tunic to the Art Institute of Chicago as part of the Gaffron Collection in 1955 where it currently resides.

As described by the Art Institute of Chicago:

“One of the most extraordinary works in the Art Institute’s archaeological textile collection, this feathered tunic was created by Chimú weavers in northern Peru in 1470/1532. The knee-length, sleeveless garment is composed of a plain-weave cotton cloth completely concealed by thousands of brightly colored feathers. These coveted plumes were taken from macaws, parrots, toucans, cotingas, and tanagers from the tropical forests of South America. Because they were transported across the treacherous peaks of the Andes, the feathers were extremely rare and valuable and would only have been available to the most elite members of pre-Hispanic society. Thus, the feathered tunic—with its stylized felines, birds, and fish—would have been a sumptuous emblem of power, wealth, and prestige. Like many other pre-Hispanic textiles, it was buried with its owner in a subterranean tomb on the southern coast of Peru. The dark and arid conditions in these tombs protected the tunic, thereby allowing its vibrant colors and bold motifs to endure.”

• Feathered Tunic: The Art Institute of Chicago
• Chimor: Wikipedia
• Chimú Civilization: World History Encyclopedia

About My Outfit

I was stumped. And then I wasn’t. It all started with this very old bird print infinity scarf to represent the birds in the tunic motif. I realized how much I dislike infinity scarves when I was styling this outfit. I was going to cut it apart but I didn’t have the time to resew it so I wore it as a sash instead. I actually really like it styled this way and now I think I won’t cut it open!

Very quickly after settling on the scarf, my white furry vest came to mind because its fake plushy fur-stuff very closely resembles the texture of the ancient feathered tunic. Once I had those two items chosen, the rest was fairly easy. I just continued adding outfit elements in the same earthy colors that appear in the tunic until I was satisfied with this very Andean-inspired look. My outfit includes an olive green knit dress, my brown preloved cowgirl boots, my orange Panama hat, and my green Teddy Blake bag. I accessorized with an embossed belt, a necklace with little gold feather charms, and feather earrings.

How did I do?

If you enjoyed my outfit interpretation of this sartorial artwork, be sure to also check out Terri’s interpretation of the artwork as well as Salazar’s take on it. If you would like to participate in this challenge and have your photo included in Terri’s round up post on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, be sure to email your photos to her at meadowtreestyle@gmail.com by 10:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, November 7, 2023. I look forward to seeing your creative styles. 

Keeping it on the edge,

Shelbee

Linking up with these Fabulous Link Parties.

Outfit Details: Dress-Target / Boots-Thrifted / Scarf-Old Navy / Bag-Teddy Blake / Hat-Wona Trading / Necklace-Black Forest Trading Post / Earrings-Snake Song / Belt-Old