Leonard Kalina Fine Arts

Pre-Columbian art of Mesoamerica - Textile Image Enlargement

INCA QUIPU, a counting device used to keep track of tribute owed to the Emperor. The color and placement of the strands, and the number and placement of the knots all had numerical meanings which could be read by trained officials. Cotton. Width-20". Height-14. Inca Empire, circa AD1325-1550.