Three Peruvian 1960's CHANCAY Funerary Doll - Ancient Cloth Used by Peruvians. Description: Medium Peruvian Funerary pre-Columbian Chancay dolls and are made using ancient textile fragments which could be a 1000 years old. 11 inches tall. Provenance: Ex Brining Collection, collected over 40 years ago. Condition: Ware as expected, but generally intact and excellent for their age.

"History: Not much is known about the Chancay civilization which developed in the later part of the Inca empire. This culture emerged after the fall of the Wari civilization. Parts of the southern Chancay area were conquered by the Chim̼u in the early fifteenth century and in about 1450 A.D. the Incas were occupying both areas. [1] It is believed that the Chancay had a centralized political structure, forming a small regional state. [3] Thus the Chancay culture declined in the fifteenth century to make way for the territorial expansion of the Inca Empire.

Occupying the central coast coastal region of Peru, the Chancay were centered mostly in the Chancay and ChillÌ_n valleys, although they also occupied other areas such as the Rimac and Lurin valley areas. [2] The center of the Chancay culture was located 80 kilometers north of Lima. It is a desert region but has fertile valleys bathed by rivers and is rich in resources that allowed for, among other things, extensive agricultural development.

The Chancay developed intense trade relations with other regions, allowing them to interract with other cultures and settlements in a wide area.

Economy: The Chancay culture based its economy on agriculture, fishing and trade. Water reservoirs and irrigation canals were built by engineers in order to develop agriculture. As the culture was geographically located on the oceanfront, they were involved in traditional fishing both from the shore as well as further out to sea from their caballitos de totora, an ancient type of watercraft unique to Peru. The Chancay also traded with other regions either by land towards the Peruvian highlands and jungle or by sea to the north and south of their borders.

The settlements in Lauri, Lumbra, Tambo Blanco, Handrail, Pisquillo Chico and Tronconal focused mainly on artisans producing large-scale ceramics and textiles. The Chancay culture is the first of the Peruvian cultures that had mass production of ceramics, textiles and metals such as gold and silver which were ritualistic and domestic goods. They were also noted for their wood carved items. [1]

The curacas, political leaders, regulated the production of artisans, farmers and ranchers as well as oversaw festive activities.

Textiles: The most well-known Chancay artefacts are the textiles which ranged from embroidered pieces, different types of fabrics decorated with paint. A variety of techniques, colours and themes were used in the making of textiles.[2] They used an array of colours including yellows, browns, scarlet, white, blues and greens.[1]

types of fabric used included: llama wool, cotton, chiffon and feathers.[2] Their technique involved were decorated open weave, brocade, embroidery, and painting.[2] Brushes were used to paint anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, geometric and other creative designs directly on the canvases. The Chancay are known for the quality of their painted tapestries. The typically geometric designs also included drawings of plants, animals such as fish, cats, birds, monkeys and dogs (most notably the hairless Peruvian dog[4]) as well as human figures.[3] Birds and deities wearing crescent-like headdresses were one of the more common decorative features.[1] They produced a variety of goods such as clothing, bags, and funeral masks.[2]

Many Chancay textiles survive to date. It is believed that their production was quite extensive, due to the quantities that have been preserved. The quality of the textile material appears to be good as they were carefully made. [1]

Canvases or gauzes were used primarily for religious and magical purposes. They were made for covering the head of the dead in the form of a headdresses. According to the beliefs of the time, the threads on these fabrics had to be spun in the form of an "S" in an anticlockwise direction. This thread, which had a magical character, was called lloque and, according to legend, the garments were infused with supernatural powers and served as protection in the afterlife. Feathers were inserted into a main thread which was then sewn onto the fabric.

The Chancay also manufactured dolls and other objects covered with pieces of woven fabric and various threads.

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