2-742-825 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Tapestry Fragment, 700-1370s. The prominent figure duplicated on this brightly coloured fragment is known today simply as a "Lord," a term that reveals uncertainty about his identity but confidence in his prestige, conveyed in part by his elaborate headdress. Whether a king or a deity, he was crucially important to the north coast Lambayeque (lahm-buy- yek -kay) (Sicán) people, who portrayed him repeatedly in many media and objects, including the large gold beaker shown elsewhere in the gallery. The geometric motif that repeats in the nine central squares is unidentified.