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all aspects of this art form, from the choice of raw materials
to the perseverance of these traditions over time,
and it explains the signifi cance of various designs while
providing a chronological and historical account of the
less well-known Andean peoples, who preceded the famous
Inca. From November 23, 2018, through March
24, 2019, nearly two hundred objects from some of
the greatest collections will be brought together for this
event. In addition to those from the Musée du Cinquantenaire’s
own holdings, works on view will include many
major pieces from the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques
Chirac, the Linden-Museum in Stuttgart, and the MAS in
Antwerp. This ambitious and comprehensive show will
be the subject of an in-depth article in our winter edition.
ABOVE LEFT: Tunic, unku.
Inca, Peru. 1450–1532.
Cotton, wool.
Musée du Cinquantenaire,
inv. AAM87.1.
Photo © KMKG-MRAH.
ABOVE: Female votive
fi gure. Inca, Peru.
1450–1532.
Silver, feathers, cotton, wool.
Musée du Cinquantenaire,
inv. MAS.IB.2010.017.314.
Photo © Janssen-Arts Collection,
Vlaamse Gemeenschap (MAS);
photo: H. Maertens.
LEFT: Ear ornaments.
Chimu, Peru. 1100–1470.
Wood, mother of pearl, Spondylus
shell, green stone, resin.
Linden-Museum Stuttgart,
inv. M32248.
Photo © Linden-Museum, Stuttgart.
MUSEUM news
INCA DRESS CODE
BRUSSELS—The Musée du Cinquantenaire has ambitious
plans for September, when it will open an exhibition
devoted to a relatively little-considered yet fundamental
form of Pre-Columbian art: the textile. While the colonials
sought gold and collectors have coveted sculpture,
the Andean peoples of pre-contact times valued above
all else the work of weavers and feather artists, who produced
beautiful garments and ornaments loaded with
iconographic symbols. Mummies were adorned with
them, fi gures were dressed in them, and meticulous care
was taken in the choice of their colors and designs, as
well as in the details of their manufacture. This was the
supreme art. The Inca Dress Code exhibition examines