A Peruvian funeral shroud from 2,000 years ago shows the great skill and ability of ancient artisans in the region. The fragile textile was displayed to the press on 16 June during its transport back to Peru from Sweden. It was brought to Europe from South America 80 years ago, smuggled in by a diplomat.
The intricately designed textile was one of nearly 90 pieces of textile being returned to their place of origin by the year 2021. Four pieces made up the contents of the first shipment back to Peru.
The Paracas culture existed in the Andes Mountains between 800 and 100 years before the common era. This culture, which made great advances in agriculture and textile production, went extinct 1300 years before the rise of the Incan culture around the year 1200. The fabrics in this collection were created by Paracas craftspeople just prior to the end of their civilization. Little more is known about these ancient people.
The textiles, created from alpaca wool, were preserved in the ultra-dry conditions of the Peruvian desert for thousands of years. Swedish consul Sven Karell removed the ancient objects from their native country in 1934.
"Across the world, the discoveries of textiles of this age are much rarer than any precious metal. If you wanted to find a Roman textile, you won't find anything because nothing was preserved. Textiles are very fragile," Krzysztof Makowski an archaeologist with the University of Warsaw and the Catholic University of Peru, told the press.
The Shroud of Gothenburg measures 41 inches long by 21 inches wide. The fabric contains around 80 different colors and hues in its composition. The design is separated into the 32 frames, containing the shapes of people and animals, including frogs, cats and condors.
Even the borders of this funeral shroud contain figures, intricately crafted in three-dimensional relief. Researchers have never been able to determine how this highly-detailed textile was sewn together.
Peru is gathering their ancient artifacts currently housed in collections worldwide. Yale University recently returned almost 400 artifacts from Machu Picchu back to their native country.
"The figures were stitched with cactus thorns and even the borders have figures in relief," said Culture Minister, Diana Alvarez Calderon.
The return of the fabrics was part of an agreement reached between the foreign ministries of Sweden and Peru. As part of the pact, the government of Stockholm will pay for all costs associated with returning the textiles. Ollanta Humala, the president of Peru, will meet with the mayor of Gothenburg, Sweden to thank her for her work returning the artifacts to his nation.
