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Just as a popped collar on an IZOD alligator shirt tipped you off to the villain in an ’80s teen movie, clothing has sent messages about wealth, identity and social standing for centuries.
Proving that is the George Washington University Museum and the Textile Museum’s new exhibition called “Weaving an Empire: Textiles of the Inka World.”
Nearly 50 pieces dating back some 500 years showcase the clothing and weaving traditions of different cultures within the Inka Empire, including garments worn by royalty and everyday people.
Shelley Burian, the museum’s Lisa and Bernard Selz curator, explains how even small details in a garment could reveal someone’s political standing.
“So it’s kind of like your office badge of where your clearance is, how far into the building you swipe,” Burian said.
But a person’s place in society wasn’t the only message woven into their clothing.
“So they’re communicating their spirituality. They’re communicating their ethnic identity through things like color, iconography,” Burian said.
Burian, who earned her doctorate in art history from Emory University in 2019, said the weaving techniques themselves could reveal where a garment originated. Coastal communities often combined several methods, while highland weavers typically used just one or two.
One tunic particularly fascinates her because its makers broke a fundamental rule of weaving.
“What these people decided to do is use a bunch of threads and bars to have multiple sets of threads that stop and interlock with each other,” Burian said. “I think it has a cosmological significance because people in the Andes liked the idea of two things making one thing.”
Burian pointed out a garment she had personally researched and written about.
“I about fell over when I saw it because it’s the only known dress that’s woven in this technique, which is the Inca Prestige technique of tapestry,” she said.
The dress features a certain pattern that is similar to those depicted on clothing worn by Inka queens in historical illustrations and the iconic Dolly Parton.
“So this isn’t just my eyes looking at this and saying butterfly. No, it’s in the descriptions with the Indigenous language word for butterfly,” she said.
Burian pointed out that the dress is displayed in two pieces because it was cut apart during the colonial period, leaving a quarter of the original fabric missing.
“So it’s to me a really special piece, even if it doesn’t look quite as nice,” Burian said.
The exhibit is on display at the Textile Museum through Dec. 23.
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