Tocapu

Tocapu (Tocapo or Tokapu) was a decorative artwork with discrete geometrical motifs. It was associated with Andean textiles, especially for the use of the Royals' clothing. Tocapu was also painted on wooden boards.

Tocapu. Textiles worn by the Inca elite consisting of geometric figures enclosed by rectangles or squares.

Motifs

Tocapu was an integral part of the various textiles used in the Inca Empire. The designs were woven into the fabrics. In Tocapu, a nearly square frame inside a field is divided and subdivided into various geometric shapes.^[1]

Repeat Setting

A repeat of the designs was combined following the suitability, for example, of repeating the single design unit or forming a group of units, such as a band (for example, a band on the bottom of uncu) or sometimes Tocapu motifs were given in a scattered way also (without any arrangement).^[1]

Study

Tocapu used by Incas always remained a subject of research for assuming the existence of pictographic or ideographic writing.^[2][3]

About symbols and signs

The Tocapu is evaluated more than decorative values.

Santacruz Pachacuti Yamqui explained:

Each town was referred to by a sign system well recognized in the Andes, the pacarina. Manco Capac is credited with originating this custom whereby each province and each town chose an object to symbolize its origin.

Signs, songs, and memory in the Andes: translating Quechua language and culture^[4]

Gallery

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  Uncu with Tocapu
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  Uncu with Tocapu
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  Inca Tunic, 15th-16th Century
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  Nazca-Paracas mantle, 1-100 CE, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn.
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  Paracas textile, 100-300 C.E., Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn.
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  Paracas mantle, c. 200 C.E., Larco Museum, Lima.
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  Wari textile fragment, 650-900 C.E., Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven.
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  Wari tunic, 750-950 C.E., Textile Museum, Washington, D.C.
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  Tupa Inca tunic with Tocapu, c. 1550 C.E., Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.
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  Painted textile fragment, 1000-1476 C.E., Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven.
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  Chimu shirt, 1450-1550 C.E., Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
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  Chancay sleeved tunic with flying condors