FEATHERED WALLS New York City—In February 1943, newspapers of Arequipa in southern Peru reported that villagers had discovered an ancient “burial ground” in a field where the Ocoña and Churunga rivers meet. The site became known as Corral Redondo, probably in reference to the three concentric circular walls, all about three feet in height and built of rough fieldstone, that were the area’s most prominent architectural feature (redondo means “round” in Spanish). The villagers excavated an unknown number of bodies and many offerings, among them miniature objects and male and female figurines, made by the Inca in the fifteenth or sixteenth century. The most spectacular objects, however, were probably created by the much earlier Wari people (7th–10th century): eight ceramic vessels, each three to four feet high, that together contained ninety-six large, rolled-up feathered panels. The vessels are thought to depict humans, perhaps Wari dignitaries or ancestors, with mythological imagery painted on their bodies. Most of the panels are completely covered with the fine body feathers of the blue and yellow macaw, laid out in rectangles; others are entirely yellow or blue and orange. The ties still attached to the upper corners of many of the panels suggest they were used as hangings designed to transform an interior space into a radiant ceremonial setting. What was the function of this isolated site, which was important enough to attract offerings from two of the Andes’ most powerful cultures? Answers are still elusive, but it seems obvious that Corral Redondo was a huaca, or sacred place. It is known that the Inca used their finest textiles to cover the walls of shrines. Perhaps the Wari hung the luxurious feathered panels on the walls of the circular enclosure while they performed rituals prior to burial. Centuries later, the Inca came to the site for special ceremonies and to bury offerings to honor their gods and ancestors. Feathered Walls: Hangings from Ancient Peru, an exhibition currently at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is comprised of twelve of these remarkable feather panels. Ten of these were acquired by Nelson A. Rockefeller in the 1950s and bequeathed to the Met in 1979 and two are on loan. They are installed on the 88-foot-long wall between the museum’s ancient South American art galleries and the galleries for modern and contemporary art. Their arrangement in the installation may be close to the way they were displayed in ancient times on special ceremonial occasions, covering the rough, gray stone walls of Wari structures and imbuing them with elegance and luxuriousness. This striking show can be seen until March 2, 2014. Quadrated feather panel. Wari, reportedly from Corral Redondo, Churunga Valley, Peru. AD 7th–10th century. Feathers on cotton, camelid fiber. 74.3 x 212.5 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979, inv. #1979.206.470. Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Feather panel. Wari, reportedly from Corral Redondo, Churunga Valley, Peru. C-14 dated: AD 660–870 (95% certainty). Feathers on cotton, camelid fiber. 69.2 x 213.4 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection, bequest of Nelson A. Rockefeller, 1979, inv. #1979.206.475. Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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