Cone of prepared cotton ready for spinning
Central coast (?) of Peru
Pre-Columbian, date unknown
Cotton fiber, string
19 x 6 cm
Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of the May Company Department Stores. X65.7619
Balls and skeins of yarn ready for weaving
Central coast (?) of Peru
Pre-Columbian, date unknown
Cotton, Camelid hair
Dimensions various
Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of Harold W. McBride. X65.7623N.
Workbasket containing 85 spindles
Chancay culture (?), central coast of Peru
Late Intermediate Period, 1150-1450 CE
9 x 38 x 15 cm
Fowler Museum at UCLA. Gift of the Harold W. McBride. X64.548.1
The workbasket was used to hold the weaver’s tools, including yarns, needles, and small wooden combs. These baskets were used throughout the pre-Columbian weaver’s lifetime and were buried with her.
Elena Phipps, The Peruvian Four-Selvaged Cloth. Ancient Threads / New Directions. Fowler Museum Textile Series, No. 12, Los Angeles, 2013