Published: 31/05/2023
A common thread links the Incas of Peru, the Maya of Central America, the Aztecs of Mexico and the Navajo of the American Southeast. Artists in cloth, they have created some of the finest textiles in the history of the world.
Ancient burial grounds in Peru have preserved exquisite offerings and dazzling textiles. Two thousand years ago, weavers and embroiderers at Paracas produced sumptuous garments patterned with mythological creatures, elements from nature, and complex geometric designs. The Incas rose to power after AD 1200. Inca textiles were central to political, military, social and religious life across their vast empire.
The civilisation of the ancient Maya reached its peak between AD 300 and 900. Great cities, many still covered by rainforest, grew up in parts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras. Carved stone panels, ceramic figurines and splendid mural paintings offer an insight into religious rituals, courtly life and clothing styles. Today Maya spinners, dyers, weavers and embroiderers perpetuate the skills of their ancestors.
Photos by Chloë Sayer
The Aztecs of central Mexico began their rise to power in AD 1325 and surrendered to invading Spanish forces in 1521. Although they were a warrior nation, their creative achievements were breathtaking. Their legacy includes painted books, sculpture and fine featherwork. Aztec descendants wear magnificent clothing for religious festivals, and dress the Christian saints in intricately woven textiles.
Beauty is crucially important to Navajo culture. According to oral tradition, the Navajo were taught to weave during their mythological past by 'Spider Woman'. Cotton textiles were common, but wool was adopted after the arrival of Spanish settlers. Navajo rugs, tapestry-patterned with interlocking geometric designs, are prized by museums and collectors.
CHLOE SAYER - Author, Researcher, Lecturer
Chloë Sayer lives in London, and is a freelance specialist in Latin American art and culture. She is a Research Associate with the Department for World Cultures at the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada, and curated their recent exhibition¡Viva México! Clothing & Culture (2015-2016). She is the author of the accompanying book, published in 2015.
Her other books include MEXICAN TEXTILES (British Museum Press, 1990), THE ARTS AND CRAFTS OF MEXICO (Thames & Hudson, 1990), THE INCAS - THE ANCIENT WORLD (Wayland Publishers, 1998), TEXTILES FROM MEXICO (British Museum Press, 2002) and FIESTA: DAYS OF THE DEAD AND OTHER MEXICAN FESTIVALS (British Museum Press, 2009).
Chloë Sayer has made ethnographic collections for the British Museum in Mexico and Belize, and has worked on a number of television documentaries about Mexico and Peru for Channel 4 and the BBC. She has lectured for galleries and museums in Great Britain, Canada, Ireland and Mexico. She has also toured Australia and New Zealand, lecturing for member societies of ADFAS, and regularly leads cultural tour to Mexico. In 2016 she was awarded the prestigious Ohtli medal by the Mexican government, in recognition of her long-standing commitment to Mexican culture.
