A knotted puzzle buried for a millennium
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- Опубліковано 10 бер 2021
- A Four-Cornered Hat, Wari (Huari) culture, c. 500-900 C.E., camelid fiber, 17.8 x 18.4 cm, 57.8 cm circumference, Bolivia or Peru (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
A conversation between Dr. Sarahh Scher and Dr. Steven Zucker
This channel is a GEM.
absolutely right
It's a shame that only recently we've begun to understand just how colorful and craft-oriented cultures of the past really were. Although most daily objects made of plant materials or textile don't survive, what has shows just how important it was to ancient people that what they made was truly built both to last and also be beautiful.
one can only imagine what unseen treasures were sacrificed/melted/destroyed/disintegrated/looted...thank you for this video
It kinda looks like a modern hat with pixel art printed on it. Very interesting.
I hope you guys can include more info on the journey of the object post-discovery, if you can. If it's simply unknown, just saying so would be helpful! It would be nice to know how such a fragile object managed to survive 1400 years of abandonment.
It's an important question, but unfortunately not much provenance data is available. The Met records that it was in a private collection until the owner died in 1993. The sad truth is that much of the Andean work that is now on public display was looted. If this is an area you want to explore, please see our initiative, ARCHES (At Risk Cultural Heritage Education Series): smarthistory.org/overview/arches-at-risk-cultural-heritage-education-series/
@@smarthistory-art-history Even that small peak behind the curtain is super interesting, and love your work on ARCHES! Thanks.
Almost all pre-Inca ceramics, metals, and textiles come from excavated burials and tombs; and that's how they were well preserved. These sites were heavily looted in the late 19th century and early 20th century. In recent years, intact major Wari burial sites have been discovered, even one featuring a female mummy as the main figure. Luckily , these are archeological excavations.
The quality and complexity of this textile rivals that of some of the finest work done in China or the Middle East during the same period.
Hope smart history can make a video comparing these objects.
It seems that in some cultures, they had the hidden part of the garment with a wave as intricate as the one visible. I even saw one garment with 3 hidden layers, which signifies the rather symbolic aspect of the textile, as for the importance of the one wearing it. Fascinating video, I learned so much
The Wari are so cool!! Those hats are so detailed!
This is Smart History right here 😃
Picasso would have loved this masterpiece, especially during his synthetic cubist period.
On a droller note, it reminds me of the art style of most hacky sacks.
That type of hat was common through the Southern Andes. At least in northern Chile some have been found.
Excellent! I loved your video on this beautiful object. Thank you. 💙
Stunning
Immediate reaction: This is a hat?! 😂 I would've guessed many things before that, but I like it!
I then began to wonder what aspect of my wardrobe I'd want buried with me and studied by future generations.. Pretty much none of it (lol), but my Fitbit is high on the short list. Hopefully they'd be impressed by my stats. 😛
I do love the intricate designs on these hats. It's no surprise so much skill goes into making them and that they were considered so precious to their owner / that culture.
The note the video ended on is thought-provoking. I'm always intrigued to see how people value things differently. I do wonder why birds were chosen and what other animals may have been.
The commentary was really great in this, btw - flowing, but not at all difficult to follow, with great chemistry! I enjoyed it. ❤
That made me laugh (Beth here). I LOVE this hat...its hard to call it a hat, since it's a great work of art.
You were the missing ingredient for this one (though surprisingly enjoyable for a guest spot), so now it is perfect. Always glad to make you laugh. 😂❤
I guess this would qualify as a ready made? It wasn't created for artistic purposes, but is now exclusively used that way... Maybe all hats should be masterfully designed and this is one of the few that gets it right!@@smarthistory-art-history
Awesome, please do more video's on indigenous American art.
You can find all of our videos and short essays on the Americas here: smarthistory.org/americas-before-1900/
The birds are araras ;^)
Awesome information!!!!!!!!!!
wait...what look like three fingers, are three fingers...and they are holding the heads of the birds on top of the staffs the Staff God holds...two hands two staff heads...the birds in the other squares do relate to the Gate of the Sun Staff God...looks like the whole hat does...the back to back steps are the platform the Staff God stands on...
Oh Wao such a cool object. Could that first bird like be a Peackock?
4:37
6:30 incas sacrifice textile daily to sun god