These and some other interesting Andean artifacts from Precolumbian times are on display here in Montevideo at MAPI – the museum of precolumbian and indigenous art, in the Cuidad Vieja / Old City. Handily located near the port where cruise ships and the buquebus ferry come in, it’s well worth a visit if you happen to be passing through, just two short blocks up and one block over from the Mercado del Puerto, which is a marvellous place to enjoy lunch amid the lively crowds and music, browse and perhaps shop, before visiting local galleries.  A visitor can easily spend a whole day in this interesting part of the old city.  

This woven fabric, of cotton and alpaca wool, is from the Peruvian Wari culture dating between 600-1000AD.  I just know if had been able to reach inside the glass case and touch it, it would have been sooo soft… you could tell just looking at it.  Each motif+hole was about 1″sq.

This knitted cotton fragment of two joined pieces, comes from the same time and area.

In a case on its own beside the case containing the other pieces, was this fascinating 4-cornered cap/gorro, missing one of its horn-like trims.  It was made of cotton and alpaca wool, with a fine geometric design worked in a tufted or velvet like texture.  I felt from the back appearance of the loose fagment lying beside the cap that it was embroidered, with something like velvet stitch – or maybe the velvet texture was woven in – either is possible, and I am only going by what  I saw without being able to touch.  I recall seeing a similar piece in a museum in Lima, I think it was, where it was made clear this kind of hat was worn by a very high status noble.  From the same area and era.