HESCAH Lecture

This event is now postponed due to Hurricane Helene. We are working on rescheduling.

With Dr. Andrew James Hamilton, Associate Curator of Arts of the Americas, Art Institute of Chicago; Lecturer, Department of Art History, University of Chicago

The most famous work of Andean art in the world is an enigmatic tunic in the collection of Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, DC. Thought to be the only surviving royal vestment of the Inca Empire, it has spawned controversial theories that its intricate patterns are a long-lost writing system. For over a decade, Andrew James Hamilton has conducted careful physical studies of this rare, royal, and radiant object. In this talk, he will offer an entirely new understanding of the familiar object by piecing together its remarkable life history: from its arduous facture some 500 years ago, to its reappearance in the mid-twentieth century, and its cultural significance in the present day.

Reception to follow in the Harn Galleria. Free and open to the public.

Organized by the Harn Eminent Scholar Chair in Art History Committee of the School of Art + Art History in cooperation with the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art