Currently not on view
Baton with alpaca finial in alpaca fur case,
A.D. 1438–1532
Art of the Inka Empire
From a humble group of villagers, the Inka rose to an expansive political force in the late fourteenth century, rapidly growing through military and economic expansion to become the largest empire in the ancient Andes. Their vast territory stretched from the capital at Cuzco north into Ecuador and south into Chile and comprised over twelve million subjects. This Inka-dominated area was called Tawantinsuyo (Land of Four Quarters), reflecting the basic four-part organization of their political geography. Conquest by the Inka empire brought luxury goods, such as the art displayed here, to subject peoples, and those in power carefully controlled such fine objects in order to maintain a discernible imperial style—and thus impose a consistent vision of the state.
Information
A.D. 1438–1532
South America, Peru
<p> March 31, 1981, sold by Mathias Komor (dealer; 1909-1984), New York, to Gillett G. Griffin (1928-2016), Princeton, NJ [1]; 2016, bequest of Gillett G. Griffin to the Princeton University Art Museum. </p> <p> Notes: <br> [1] According to an invoice in the curatorial file. <br> </p>
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