Description:

Pre-Columbian, Peru, Inca culture, ca. 1300 to 1500 CE. Sometimes called talking knots, quipus (khipus) were knotted-string devices that were used for recording both statistical and narrative information, most notably by the Inca, but also by other peoples of the central Andes from pre-Inca times through the colonial and republican eras, and even – in a considerably transformed and attenuated form – down to the present day. Consisting of colored, spun, and plied thread or strings from llama or alpaca hair (sometimes from cotton) the cords contained numeric and other values encoded by knots in a base ten positional system. Quipus might have just a few or up to 2,000 cords. Even today there are Khipu-keepers in the Andes who are able to recite their genealogy and historical events by reading a Khipu! Custom matted and framed. Size: 12.5" L x 14.75" W (31.8 cm x 37.5 cm); 19.625" L x 21.5" W (49.8 cm x 54.6 cm) framed

Provenance: private Ventura County, California, USA collection

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#125911

  • Condition: Only minor fraying to ends. New custom mat and frame. A fabulous piece of visual culture!

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August 3, 2017 7:00 AM MDT
Louisville, CO, US

Artemis Fine Arts

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$300 $999 $50
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$20,000 $49,999 $2,000
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$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
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