Mrs. Grace of the William Russell Grace family (probably Lillius Gilchrist Grace [1839–1922]), New York, first quarter of the 20th century; William Russell Grace family, New York, 1922; Sotheby’s East, New York, early 1970s; private collection, early 1970s; Textile Arts Inc. (Mary Hunt Kahlenberg), Santa Fe, New Mexico; LACMA, 2007.

Embroidered black tunics (uncus) were worn by the Indigenous nobility during the celebration of Corpus Christi. Made of local yarns (likely alpaca), this example was woven on traditional Andean looms used in the highlands for hundreds of years. The sides are ornamented with a mascaypacha—the red fringe symbolic of Inca kingship worn at the forehead, while bands of tocapu (a form of rank insignia) mark the edges. These motifs, alongside the lions and castles of Spanish heraldry, symbolized the wearer’s high standing and loyalty to the Spanish crown. The tunic was woven with a special technique meant to catch the light and glisten, further endowing its wearer with special status. Contemporary paintings show Inca aristocrats wearing similar embroidered tunics in the important religious procession of Corpus Christi.

From exhibition Archive of the World, 2022 (for more information see the catalogue entry by Elena Phipps in the accompanying publication, cat. no. 32, pp. 170–74)

• Contested Visions in the Spanish Colonial World Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, November 6, 2011 - January 29, 2012
• Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800 Los Angeles, CA, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, June 12, 2022 - October 30, 2022
• Archive of the World: Art and Imagination in Spanish America, 1500–1800 Nashville, TN, Frist Art Museum, October 20, 2023 - January 28, 2024