increased over time: there was an evolution toward an Composed of two pieces of cloth sewn together at the exquisite re昀椀nement of geometric patterning that reached top and along the sides with openings left for the neck its apogee in the workshops of later imperial powers, the and arms, Wari tunics were worn by men over a loincloth Wari and the Inca. and served as one of the primary markers of identity. By the middle of the 昀椀rst millennium ce, Andean weav- Notably, they were depicted with care in other media, ers had begun to experiment with new compositions, in such as on ceramic vessels in the shape of dignitaries which recognizable form was sublimated to the impera- and on small wood 昀椀gures with shell-and-stone mosaic tives of pattern. Figures, if present at all, were reduced to inlays. The cloth for these tunics was tapestry woven, fundamental shapes enveloped in bold, rectilinear compo- involving a labor-intensive process in which the length- sitions. Indeed, the prominence of the 昀椀gure as a subject of wise warp yarns—the stationary elements of a loom—were the composition was subverted. A tendency toward a dis- concealed by the transversal weft yarns that were drawn solution and recombination of a 昀椀gure’s component parts over and under the warps. Some six to nine miles of thread 7 increased with the rise of the Wari Empire (600–1000). were used for a single 昀椀ne Wari tunic. From its capital in Ayacucho in the central Peruvian high- Wari tunics display considerable standardization in size, lands, the Wari Empire developed a wide-ranging trade format, color, and design, suggesting they were produced 8 network, and its in昀氀uence was felt as far a昀椀eld as the North in state-sponsored workshops. Yet despite this level of Coast of Peru. Wari artists excelled in the 昀椀ber arts, creating state control over production, Wari weavers developed woven garments of rich, saturated colors. The chromatic seemingly endless, dazzlingly complex variations on stan- intensity made possible by dyed camelid 昀椀bers, along with dardized designs. These compositions are often enlivened masterful compositions of interlocking forms, make Wari with frequent mirroring and inversions of repeated motifs, tunics among the most striking textiles known from the as seen in the bold design of one Wari tunic, which is built ancient Andes. around a single wave-like motif known as a stepped fret, Fig. 8. Fig. 9. Fig. 10. Nasca artist. Embroidered bag with fringe. Río Grande de Nasca, Nasca artist. Embroidered bag with fringe. Río Grande de Nasca, Nasca artist. Embroidered bag with fringe. Río Grande de Nasca, Peru, 7th century. Camelid 昀椀ber, 14 ⼀攀 × 6 in. (36.2 × 15.2 cm). Peru, 7th century. Camelid 昀椀ber, 16 ⼀挀 × 8 ⼀欀 in. (41.9 × 21.3 cm). Peru, 7th century. Camelid 昀椀ber, 12 ⼀挀 × 7 ⼀攀 in. (31.8 × 18.4 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Bequest of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Jane Costello Goldberg, from the Collection of Gift of George D. Pratt, 1932 (32.32.11) Gift of George D. Pratt, 1932 (32.32.9) Arnold I. Goldberg, 1986 (1987.394.652) 11