TIWANAKU ZAMPOÑARI
W 40cm/15.75inch X H 60cm/23.62inch.
Tar, white pastel and acrylics over Canson cardboard
Mixed technique
Not framed
Contribution: $3,978.00
About this artwork
The city of Tiwanaku lies in ruins amidst the rugged Andean steppe of Bolivia, at an astonishing altitude of twelve thousand feet above sea level, making it the highest urban settlement of the ancient world. The central figure depicted in the image represents Tunupa, the weather god in Aymara Culture. This figure is famously found in the ‘Gate of the Sun,’ a renowned archaeological artifact within the Tiwanaku ruins. The musical instrument held by the three human figures is a Zampoña, a wind instrument similar to the pan flute but notably more powerful and larger in size.
The three-dimensionality of this painting is truly astonishing. The three indigenous figures carved into the Andean mountains, playing the Zampoña, stand before the slender golden figure of Tunupa. Together, they exude the profound power and richness of the culture