Page 523 - Art In The Age Of Exploration (Great Section on Chinese Art Ming Dynasty)

The detectable changes are subtle, and the style the result of its official nature. Most of the bold
remained more Chimu than Inka. Some accom- architecture, metalwork, ceramics, and textiles
plished Chimu artisans were taken to Cuzco were produced by artisans working for the
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where they probably made objects in the Inka state. The state apparently controlled pro-
7
style, such objects apparently symbolizing the duction not just to provide itself with substan-
Inka state. Yet most of those artisans who con- tial quantities of necessary and valuable goods,
tinued to work on the Peruvian north coast con- but also in part because it wanted to stamp those
tinued to reflect local traditions, preserving a objects and buildings with its own identity. It
strong sense of the conquered Chimu state. wanted to create an image of the state and its
The situation of the south coast of Peru was rulers as providers of hospitality and givers of
somewhat different. The large kingdom of valuable gifts. These gifts and hospitality were
Chincha was eventually brought peacefully into dispensed in settings of political and religious
Tawantinsuyu, and the more extensive local rituals intended to teach the populace a new,
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imitation of Cuzco elements in Chincha ceram- imperial level of social and political order. To
ics reflected the close and cooperative relation- do that, state-sponsored artists designed a set of
ships between Cuzco and that region. Slightly strong, clear symbols that the conquered peo-
farther south, in the regions of lea and Nazca, ples could easily identify, and perhaps identify
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the peaceful Inka conquest was marked by the with. Inka-style architecture set the centers
appearance of innovative new styles that com- built by the state apart from existing local set-
bined a strong degree of artistic independence tlements; these state centers, in many parts
with a liberal borrowing of Cuzco Inka ele- of the realm, provided the settings for rituals,
ments. These new eclectic styles were most ceremonies, and administrative activities. In
marked in ceramics and textiles. Among the many such centers, inhabitants and visitors
most spectacular Inka-period objects from this were served from ceramic, metal, and wood
area are ceremonial digging boards found in vessels made in the Inka style. Garments and
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tombs. These objects were often decorated with other items of cloth were also dyed and woven
red and yellow resin paint and sometimes in state-dictated styles.
sheathed in gold and silver. Their shapes were The beginnings of Andean art are recorded in
based on agricultural implements, and the ico- textiles more than three thousand years old. 17
nography of their decoration featured sea birds Andean cloth was among the world's finest cen-
eating fish (the process that led to the forma- turies before the existence of Tawantinsuyu.
tion of the guano fertilizer basic to Andean In Inka times cloth was the most valued of all
agriculture). 8 goods. It was given or exchanged to celebrate all
The influence of Cuzco and the Inka rulers on of life's turning points; elaborate gifts of cloth
local art thus ran the gamut from almost total to recently conquered peoples were but one
independence to very heavy borrowing of of the measures of its political importance. 18
imperial motifs. At the fringes of the empire Designs on cloth were richly symbolic. Distinct
there was also a range of various kinds of poli- patterns signaled differences in group member-
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ties, each with its own set of political, economic, ship. Some patterns symbolized the twelve
and artistic relationships to Tawantinsuyu. One royal panaqa (organizational divisions of the
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such was the lowland Pacific coast of Ecuador. ruling elite), and certain garments were
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There is no evidence of direct Inka control, but reserved for the ruler. Some of these were used
highland regions near the northern frontier that only for special rituals and calendar events. 21
were incorporated into the empire had particu- The description by Francisco de Jerez of
larly active traders who maintained commercial the Inka ruler Atawalpa and his retinue enter-
links with the Pacific littoral. 10 ing the plaza of the Inka city of Cajamarca gives
Inka art, as usually defined, refers to those an impression of the brilliance and color of
objects produced in the Cuzco style of the ruling the Inka court. It also implies that people were
elite beginning sometime toward the middle of dressed according to their status and duties.
the fifteenth century. It is a style characterized
by the use of relatively simple, bold geometric Soon the first people began to enter the
designs with a strong emphasis on symmetry, plaza; in front came a group of Indians in a
particularly in textiles. It "is classic in its formal colored uniform with checks. They came
clarity, balanced proportion and clean outline. removing straw from the ground and sweep-
0 SOOmi 11
TRANSVERSE MERCATOR PROJECTION It is compact, integrated and simple/' The level ing the road. Another three groups came
Longitude West 80° of Greenwich of technical excellence is high, and the repeti- after them, all singing and dancing, dressed
tion of designs and motifs suggests mass in a different way. Then many people
production. 12 advanced with armor, medallions, and crowns
The visual strength and clarity of Inka art, as of gold and silver. Among them Atawalpa
well as its repetitiveness, can be understood as entered in a litter covered with colorful

522 CIRCA 1492