Gallery Talk: Labor and Craft in the Inka Empire
The Inka state demanded tribute from millions of subjects across an ethnically and environmentally diverse landscape. This gallery talk explores the organization of labor and crafting under the Inkas. We will see how the Inkas migrated craft specialists across their empire and set them to work supplying fine goods in support of their political aspirations.
About the Exhibition
In the 15th century, the Inka built one of the world’s largest empires, rapidly expanding beyond the Cuzco Valley to occupy much of South America’s western region. Weaving an Empire: Textiles of the Inka World displays rarely exhibited garments from the diverse communities under Inka rule who dressed to reflect allegiance to the empire and their own local styles and traditions. Learn more about the exhibition
About Kylie Quave
Kylie Quave has been working in the Andes as an anthropological archaeologist for two decades. She studies the domestic lives of rural communities outside the Inka capital of Cuzco, including a potter enclave of forcibly migrated laborers and a nearby community that resisted Inka rule. Dr. Quave serves on the faculty of GW’s Writing Program.
How to Participate
This program is free and open to the public. Space is limited, so please register in advance to reserve your spot. Participants should meet in the museum lobby at 1:45 p.m.
Additional Information
Photos and/or videos of attendees of this program may be taken and shared on social media, websites or marketing materials. Please contact MuseumEd
gwu [dot] edu if you have questions about photography or recordings at this program.