This talk will consider the differences between the iconography of the Wari and Inca Empires, one of the most marked of which was the disappearance in Inca art of the so-called Staff Deity, a time-honored staple of Wari and other ancient Andean visual vocabularies. It will also explore continuities in imagery, such as the possible adaptation of an important Wari geometric design by the Inca for use as a tocapu-like motif, as well as the persistence of certain object forms and artistic techniques, including the sumptuous tapestry-woven tunics worn by the rulers and elites of both polities.
Susan Bergh has served as curator of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Pre-Columbian collection since 2000, and as its current Chair for Arts of Africa and the Americas. At work on an exhibition concerning the Chimú Empire of Peru’s north coast, she also organized the show Wari: Lords of the Ancient Andes (2012). Her exhibition work has been supported by the Getty Foundation, the National Foundation for the Humanities, and the Ohio Humanities Council. Dr. Bergh began her curatorial career in New York, where she worked at the Brooklyn Museum and Metropolitan Museum of Art. She has also taught at Texas Christian University, Fort Worth and Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland.
