Friday, June 6, 2014

Paracas Textiles and Izapa, Mexico

"LIMA, PERU—Sweden will return the first four of 89 embroidered Paracas textiles to Peru later this month, according to a report in The New York Times. The 2,500-year-old textiles, which were smuggled out of Peru in the 1930s by the Swedish consul, have been displayed in the National Museum of World Culture in Gothenburg. Among the items the mayor of Gothenburg will hand over to Peru’s vice minister of cultural patrimony is a woven mummy’s cloak decorated with tiles of animals that may represent time periods or the seasons. The process of repatriation will be completed in 2021." Note the Monster Mask motif on the feet of the jaguar. This is a Peruvian trait that shows up in the art of Mexico. From Izapa, Mexico - one of the stela carvings there. Note the Monster Mask shoes. I asked one of my Aztec dancer friends to describe this footwear, he said, "Those are Alligator Shoes" - these are not your usual alligator shoes, not the white man`s version!

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