
Tapestry Medallion
Nasca · 650 CE-700 CE
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 14 × 12.7 cm (5 1/2 × 5 in.)
- Currently held
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Movement
- Medieval
Tapestry Medallion is a vivid testament to the Nasca culture's mastery of textile art — a tradition so sophisticated that it still commands admiration more than thirteen centuries after it was made. The Nasca people of coastal Peru were among the ancient world's most accomplished weavers, producing works of staggering technical complexity and visual intensity. This medallion, dating to roughly 650–700 CE, displays the radiating symmetry and bold, high-contrast palette that characterise the late Nasca style — geometric forms interlocked with symbolic figures in a composition that feels simultaneously cosmic and precise. Working without a written language, Nasca artists encoded meaning through pattern, colour, and repetition, making their textiles among the primary records of their worldview. The Nasca are perhaps best known today for the enigmatic geoglyphs etched into the Peruvian desert — lines and figures visible only from altitude — but their textiles represent an equally extraordinary achievement, woven with thread counts that rival modern industrial fabric. This hand-painted oil reproduction translates the medallion's intricate geometry and layered colouring into the warmth and depth that only oil on canvas can offer, bringing the quiet authority of this ancient work into a contemporary space without diminishing what makes it remarkable.
Hand-painted oil reproduction
Painted in real oil on stretched canvas by master copyists. Delivered unframed — ready to frame at home.
Choose a size
In Nasca's style.
Send us a photograph of your family, pet, or home — we'll paint it as a custom oil on stretched canvas in any style you like. From £220.

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