Today we get a third viscacha for this week’s Nalbound Object of the Week. There were three viscachas figures found in a grave in Nazca, Peru. (I’ve included a picture of a live viscacha below for those of us less familiar with what exactly one looks like.) They are just a few examples of the figural nalbinding found in Peru.
Description: Worked in yellow and dark brown yarn around a solid core, the figure includes the pointed ears, nose, and long tail of a viscacha. Overall: 10.5 x 1.5 x 3 cm (4 1/8 x 9/16 x 1 3/16 in.)1
A vizcacha (Lagidium viscacia) in the Sur Lipez desert, Bolivia. Photo: Alexandre Buisse (Nattfodd), CC BY-SA 3.0
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This week’s Nalbound Object of the Week is a Chancay culture doll from Peru. The Chancay culture isn’t well known, but there is a known tradition of burial dolls. I first ran across this type of doll in 2019 while in the UK to examine other nalbound objects.
Some sources in which more information can be found:
Photographs: There are two additional photos on the British Museum’s website.
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The Walters Art Museum has a lovely example of a border fragment from Peru worked in Z-crossed Cross-knit looping variant that is this week’s Nalbound Object of the Week. The central band has beans worked out of the upper edge and fully haired faces hanging below.
Detail of Tunic Border Piece, 2011.20.5, The Walters Art Museum (CC0)
Object: Tunic Border Piece
Description: Primarily worked in red, yellow, and blue camelid fiber with accents in white and dark brown, this piece is a beautiful example of both the beans and faces motifs that are seen quite a few examples. The “hair” fringe is in very nice condition. The height including fringe is 5 inches. Overall the piece is 64 inches long. (12.7 x 162.56 cm)1
Photographs: There are additional detail photos on The Walters Art Museum’s website.
Tunic Border Piece, 2011.20.5, The Walters Art Museum (CC0)
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For today’s Nalbound Object of the Week we get a two for one special. The left sock was in Berlin, but has been missing since World War II. Luckily, they had taken really nice (B&W) photos of it. Given its size, color, gauge, shaping, presumed find location & dealer, and the fact that it is a left sock, we highly suspect that it is the mate to the right sock that is currently located about 600 km away in the Modemuseum in Schloss Ludwigsburg.
Upper: Right sock GT 4498 . Photo Origin/Rights: Landesmuseum Württemberg / Landesmuseum Württemberg, P. Frankenstein / H. Zwietasch (CC BY-SA) Photo cropped and combined with:
Lower: Lost Left sock 9804 Photo Credit: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst / Hietzke-Saalisch, Ruth CC BY-SA 4.0
Object: Left red sock – 9804 & Right1 red sock – GT 4498
Description: Barbara Köstner (now Thomas) noted in her 2015 article “Roman and Late Roman nalbinding socks from Egypt: Bringing ‘Egyptian fashion’ to the North” that these two socks may have been a pair as both shared the same find location, color, dimensions, stitch direction, and density as well as both having been purchased from Robert Forrer in Straßbourg in 1890.2 A conclusion that I came to separately for exactly the same reasons while aggregating information on the Egyptian socks for my presentation “Charting the Nalbinding of the Nile.” While it took until 1979 for the English language publications to recognize that this style of sock was not knitted, GT 4498 was used as the example for exactly why this style of sock cannot be knitted in a German publication in 1954.3 Left sock: Height: 10 cm, Length: 18 cm4 Right sock: Length: 18 cm, Width: 8.5 cm, Height: 9 cm5
Dated to: Left sock: 3rd – 5th century CE, estimated 250-430 CE based on the radiocarbon dating of similar socks in the V&A and the British Museum.6 Right sock: 500-699 CE,7 Coptic8 based on conventional art historical dating which has proven unreliable.
Find location: Left sock: Egypt, presumably Achmim9 Right sock: Achmim10
Material: Left sock: Red wool11 Right sock: S2Z, S3Z12 Wool13
Stitch(es) used: Left sock: S-crossed14 Cross-knit Looping, F1B1 U (confirmed by Anne Marie Decker based on photo) Right sock: S-crossed15 Cross-knit Looping, F1B1 U (Confirmed by Anne Marie Decker based on photo and diagram published by v. Bültzingslöwen & Lehmann). The museum catalog still misidentifies it as knitted16 even though v. Bültzingslöwen & Lehmann identified it as looped in 1954.
Gauge: Right sock: 4 stitches per centimeter, 5-6 rows per centimeter17
Inventory number: Left sock: Ident. Nr. 9804 Right sock: GT 4498
Some sources in which more information can be found:
Fluck, Cäcilia, Petra Linscheid, and Susanne Merz. Textilien aus Ägypten Teil 1: Textilien aus dem Vorbesitz Theodor Graf, Carl Schmidt und dem Ägyptischen Museum Berlin. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz. Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst. Bestandskataloge. Band 1. Germany: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, 2000. ISBN 13: 9783895001321
Köstner, Barbara. “Roman and Late Roman nalbinding socks from Egypt: Bringing ‘Egyptian fashion’ to the North” in Excavating, analysing, reconstructing Textiles of the 1st millennium AD from Egypt and neighbouring countries: Proceeding of the 9th conference of the research group ‘Textiles from the Nile Valley’ Antwerp, 27-29 November 2015, edited by Antoine De Moor, Cäcilia Fluck, and Petra Linscheid. Tielt, Belgium: Lannoo Publishers, 2017. ISBN 978 94 014 4399 9.
v. Bültzingslöwen, Regina, and Dr. E. Lehmann. “Nichtgewebte Textilien vor 1400 / IV. Teil.” Wirkerei- und Strickerei- Technik: Fachzeitschrift für die Fabrikationspraxis und Betriebstechnik der Wirkerei- und Strickerei-Industrie Coberg: August 1954, Nr. 8. Pgs. 41-43.
Photographs (if permissions allow):
GT 4498 Right sock. Likely mate to the Lost Left Red Sock 9804 Photo Origin/Rights: Landesmuseum Württemberg / Landesmuseum Württemberg, P. Frankenstein / H. Zwietasch (CC BY-SA)Lost Left Red Sock 9804 Photo Credit: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst / Hietzke-Saalisch, Ruth CC BY-SA 4.0Lost Left Red Sock 9804 Photo Credit: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst / Hietzke-Saalisch, Ruth CC BY-SA 4.0Lost Left Red Sock 9804 Photo Credit: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Skulpturensammlung und Museum für Byzantinische Kunst / Hietzke-Saalisch, Ruth CC BY-SA 4.0
Please note that sharing to other venues will likely be intermittent. If you wish to receive these each week, please remember to follow the blog. Patrons on Patreon receive early access previews, occasional extra details, and priority requests.
Köstner, Barbara. “Roman and Late Roman nalbinding socks from Egypt: Bringing ‘Egyptian fashion’ to the North” in Excavating, analysing, reconstructing Textiles of the 1st millennium AD from Egypt and neighbouring countries: Proceeding of the 9th conference of the research group ‘Textiles from the Nile Valley’ Antwerp, 27-29 November 2015, edited by Antoine De Moor, Cäcilia Fluck, and Petra Linscheid. Tielt, Belgium: Lannoo Publishers, 2017. ISBN 978 94 014 4399 9. pg. 192-193. ↩︎
Köstner, Barbara. “Roman and Late Roman nalbinding socks from Egypt: Bringing ‘Egyptian fashion’ to the North” in Excavating, analysing, reconstructing Textiles of the 1st millennium AD from Egypt and neighbouring countries: Proceeding of the 9th conference of the research group ‘Textiles from the Nile Valley’ Antwerp, 27-29 November 2015, edited by Antoine De Moor, Cäcilia Fluck, and Petra Linscheid. Tielt, Belgium: Lannoo Publishers, 2017. ISBN 978 94 014 4399 9. pg. 174. ↩︎
Based on direction of work and the increases. v. Bültzingslöwen, Regina, and Dr. E. Lehmann. “Nichtgewebte Textilien vor 1400 / IV. Teil.” Wirkerei- und Strickerei- Technik: Fachzeitschrift für die Fabrikationspraxis und Betriebstechnik der Wirkerei- und Strickerei-Industrie Coberg: August 1954, Nr. 8. Pgs. 42-43. ↩︎
18 cm Length. Köstner, Barbara. “Roman and Late Roman nalbinding socks from Egypt: Bringing ‘Egyptian fashion’ to the North” in Excavating, analysing, reconstructing Textiles of the 1st millennium AD from Egypt and neighbouring countries: Proceeding of the 9th conference of the research group ‘Textiles from the Nile Valley’ Antwerp, 27-29 November 2015, edited by Antoine De Moor, Cäcilia Fluck, and Petra Linscheid. Tielt, Belgium: Lannoo Publishers, 2017. ISBN 978 94 014 4399 9. pg. 193. 17 cm Length https://www.landesmuseum-stuttgart.de/sammlung/sammlung-online/dk-details?dk_object_id=38649 Accessed February 18, 2026 ↩︎
Köstner, Barbara. “Roman and Late Roman nalbinding socks from Egypt: Bringing ‘Egyptian fashion’ to the North” in Excavating, analysing, reconstructing Textiles of the 1st millennium AD from Egypt and neighbouring countries: Proceeding of the 9th conference of the research group ‘Textiles from the Nile Valley’ Antwerp, 27-29 November 2015, edited by Antoine De Moor, Cäcilia Fluck, and Petra Linscheid. Tielt, Belgium: Lannoo Publishers, 2017. ISBN 978 94 014 4399 9. pg. 193. ↩︎
Köstner, Barbara. “Roman and Late Roman nalbinding socks from Egypt: Bringing ‘Egyptian fashion’ to the North” in Excavating, analysing, reconstructing Textiles of the 1st millennium AD from Egypt and neighbouring countries: Proceeding of the 9th conference of the research group ‘Textiles from the Nile Valley’ Antwerp, 27-29 November 2015, edited by Antoine De Moor, Cäcilia Fluck, and Petra Linscheid. Tielt, Belgium: Lannoo Publishers, 2017. ISBN 978 94 014 4399 9. pg. 192. ↩︎
https://www.landesmuseum-stuttgart.de/sammlung/sammlung-online/dk-details?dk_object_id=38649 Accessed February 18, 2026. Köstner, Barbara. “Roman and Late Roman nalbinding socks from Egypt: Bringing ‘Egyptian fashion’ to the North” in Excavating, analysing, reconstructing Textiles of the 1st millennium AD from Egypt and neighbouring countries: Proceeding of the 9th conference of the research group ‘Textiles from the Nile Valley’ Antwerp, 27-29 November 2015, edited by Antoine De Moor, Cäcilia Fluck, and Petra Linscheid. Tielt, Belgium: Lannoo Publishers, 2017. ISBN 978 94 014 4399 9. pg. 193. ↩︎
Köstner, Barbara. “Roman and Late Roman nalbinding socks from Egypt: Bringing ‘Egyptian fashion’ to the North” in Excavating, analysing, reconstructing Textiles of the 1st millennium AD from Egypt and neighbouring countries: Proceeding of the 9th conference of the research group ‘Textiles from the Nile Valley’ Antwerp, 27-29 November 2015, edited by Antoine De Moor, Cäcilia Fluck, and Petra Linscheid. Tielt, Belgium: Lannoo Publishers, 2017. ISBN 978 94 014 4399 9. pg. 193. ↩︎
Köstner, Barbara. “Roman and Late Roman nalbinding socks from Egypt: Bringing ‘Egyptian fashion’ to the North” in Excavating, analysing, reconstructing Textiles of the 1st millennium AD from Egypt and neighbouring countries: Proceeding of the 9th conference of the research group ‘Textiles from the Nile Valley’ Antwerp, 27-29 November 2015, edited by Antoine De Moor, Cäcilia Fluck, and Petra Linscheid. Tielt, Belgium: Lannoo Publishers, 2017. ISBN 978 94 014 4399 9. pg. 193. Note: Köstner incorrectly calls the stitch Tarim stitch. based on earlier publications that mistakenly thought the Tarim hat was worked in Cross-knit Looping when it is Simple Looping. ↩︎
Köstner, Barbara. “Roman and Late Roman nalbinding socks from Egypt: Bringing ‘Egyptian fashion’ to the North” in Excavating, analysing, reconstructing Textiles of the 1st millennium AD from Egypt and neighbouring countries: Proceeding of the 9th conference of the research group ‘Textiles from the Nile Valley’ Antwerp, 27-29 November 2015, edited by Antoine De Moor, Cäcilia Fluck, and Petra Linscheid. Tielt, Belgium: Lannoo Publishers, 2017. ISBN 978 94 014 4399 9. pg. 193. ↩︎
For this week’s Nalbound Object of the Week we have another piece of truly figural work found in the Peruvian nalbound corpus. These are one of my favorites, because viscachas are sooo cute! (Once again, I’ve included a picture of a live viscacha below for those of us less familiar with what exactly one looks like.)
Description: Worked in yellow and dark brown yarn around a solid core, the figure includes the pointed ears, nose, and long tail of a viscacha. Overall: 7 x 2.1 x 3.2 cm (2 3/4 x 13/16 x 1 1/4 in.)1
A Viscacha, posted by the American Museum of Natural History Photo: andrespuiggros, CC-BY-NC 4.0, iNaturalist
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There is a whole range of Peruvian hats with these integral ear-flap straps as seen in this week’s Nalbound Object of the Week. And yet, this one is particularly striking with its volute shaped trees. The image is unfortunately not helpful with clarifying what colors are used. The object description says dark brown and tan, but the inventory description says blue and gold. Both would be striking, but is there anyone near the Peabody that can answer?
Description: A dark brown and tan (or blue and gold) diamond lattice patterned hat with crosses in the diamonds and a volute wavy tree on the ear-flaps that extend from the top of the hat down to long fringes. Overall: 52 x 17.5 x 6.5 cm (20 1/2 x 6 7/8 x 2 9/16 in.)1
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The Nalbound Object of the Week this week is a small fragment of vegetal fiber found in Chile. The fragment has two types of Loop & Twist, both Z-crossed.
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I hope everyone’s winter holiday season is going well and that the new year be all you need it to be. For this week’s Nalbound Object of the Week we got a viscacha figure/effigy. I love these because viscachas are sooo cute! (I’ve included a picture of a live viscacha below for those of us less familiar with what exactly one looks like.)
Description: Worked in yellow and dark brown yarn, the figure includes the pointed ears, nose, and long tail of a viscacha. Overall: 7.5 x 1 x 1.7 cm (2 15/16 x 3/8 x 11/16 in.)1
Stitch(es) used: Looping.5 S-crossed and Z-crossed Simple Looping depending on which part of the viscacha (as determined by Anne Marie Decker based on the photograph)
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This week’s Nalbound Object of the Week is a striking Peruvian hat worked in Cross-knit Looping in a distinctive chevron pattern. While there are quite a few hats found in Peru, both in Simple Looping and in Cross-knit Looping, this is the first I’ve come across with this Chevron patterning.
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The figural work found in the decorative borders made by the Nazca people is stunningly beautiful and detailed. This week’s Nalbound Object of the Week is a beautiful sample of their cross-knit looped borders. This fragment has three very distinct figures. The Art Institute of Chicago’s website has very nice closeups of both sides and a very good zoom function if you’d like to see more.
Nazca. Fragment of a Decorative Border, 100 BCE-200 CE. The Art Institute of Chicago® CC0 Public Domain
Object: Fragment of a Decorative Border 1956.405
Description: A border fragment with three figures. The figures are about 2.5 inches tall. The piece is 11.4 × 6.7 cm (4 1/2 × 2 5/8 in.)1
Stitch(es) used: The band’s ground support is plain weave and the extension supports are simple looping. The ground is encased in the decorative cross-knit looping6
Some sources in which more information can be found:
Sawyer, Alan R. Early Nasca Needlework. London: Laurence King Publishing, 1997. pg. 149, fig. 119 and 120 (ill.).
Melo, Alipio, María José Murillo, and Danitza Willka. “The Heartbeat of Andean Weaving,” in On Loss and Absence: Textiles of Mourning and Survival, eds. Isaac Facio, Nneka Kai, L Vinebaum, and Anne Wilson, exh. cat. Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2025. pg. 164, fig. 3 (ill.).
Photographs (if permissions allow):
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