The Antarqui Myth

The ancient Inca Empire developed a communication system where the famous chasquis would run long distances carrying messages to their destiny, often offering translation services and tracking community statistics. But Peruvian artisan Eliazar Ochoa shows us another characteristic of these ancient messengers, creating this sublime handloomed wool tapestry to portray the lustrous image of the mythical antarqui, the flying messengers of the Inca Emperor. After choosing a palette of red hues, the artisan depicts the ancestral delegates in the traditional Andean style, as the legends told about them: strong men that used to fly from mountain to mountain with an antique hang glider artifact.