Item TB405
This Item was Sold on 27 August
2020 for $104
Similar artifacts for sale are often found on the South
American Artifacts web page.
Historical Pricing information for this item and similar artifacts
can be found at: Historical Artifact
Prices.
This item is a Pre-Columbian Nazca tump made out of dyed
camelid fibres. The Tump Line is similar to a very long
sling without a pouch. The tump can be used as a belt or for
tying a This tump line is in remarkably good condition
considering its age of 1,500 - 2,000 years. It is complete
along the entire length with minimal wear or fraying, except
for one small section which is shown in the photo below. The
terminating 3 braids on one end and 6 braids on the other
end. This tump was one of about 90 slings and tumps that was
purchased by the Foliophiles Collection from the Parke
Bernet Auction House (New York City) in 1965. The Parke
Bernet Auction House was purchased by Sotheby's Auctions a
few years later. The Foliophiles Collection brought the
collection to The Textile Museum in Washington, D.C. to be
authenticated. Two slings were given to the museum. Thirty
slings and tumps were sold between 1965 and 2002. I
purchased the remainder of the collection when the owner of
the Foliophiles Collection retired. I have been slowly
selling the remainder of the collection to my customers.
This tump can be legally marketed in the USA, but it cannot
be exported. A copy of the letter proving that the date of
acquisition was before the 1972 import ban will be provided
to the purchaser upon receipt of payment. You should retain
a copy of the letter as proof that your tump is legal to own
in the USA.
The Nazca are most famous for their geoglyphs, line art
located in the Nazca Desert, a high and arid plateau that
stretches between the towns of Nazca and Palpa on the pampa
(a large flat area of southern Peru). The Nazca plain is
virtually unique for its ability to preserve the markings
upon it, due to the combination of the climate (one of the
driest on Earth, with only twenty minutes of rainfall per
year) and the flat, stony ground which minimizes the effects
of the wind at ground level. The Nazca are well known for their textiles. They began
using massive quantities of llama and alpaca wool a thousand
years before the north coast cultures began to esteem the
camelid wool. The source of the wool is believed to be from
the Ayacucho region. The motifs that appeared on the pottery
appeared earlier in the textiles. Textiles may have been as
important to other cultures in the region as to the Nazca,
but the desert has preserved the textiles of both the Nazca
and Paracas cultures and comprise most of what is known
about early textiles in the region.
The Nazca ( or Nasca ) people of Southern Peru are the
ancestors of the famous Incas. The Nazca lived in a system
of valleys in what is currently Southern Peru between 200 BC
and 600 AD. The Nazcas developed from the earlier Paracas
culture. Since the Nazca were a coastal people who depended
on the sea for their livelihood, archaeologists are
fortunate that the Nazca portrayed aspects of their everyday
lives in and on their pottery and textiles. Much of their
art was influenced by the Moche culture. The motifs
generally found on these artifacts are those of animals and
plants used and seen by the ancient people. These include
sea birds, hummingbirds, whales, sharks, fish, snakes,
seeds, flowers, and cacti. Nazca religious art portrays a
wide range of fantastic half-human, half-animal creatures,
thought to be symbols of the most fearsome creatures
inhabiting the earth, sky, and water. Also, more gruesomely,
the Nazca portrayed disembodied heads, presumed to be trophy
heads, on their pottery.
How to Order | Back to: South American Artifacts | Collectable Artifacts | Historical Artifact Prices | contact: Ted Bailey