09/08/2026
What do our clothes say about who we are?
“The checkerboard pattern is found on garments from the earlier Wari civilization, which was also known for its weaving traditions, but during the Inca period an “unku” with black-and-white squares and a stepped red yoke became one of the most standardized and prolific designs, a sort of uniform identifiable with the advance guard of the Inca emperor’s forces. This association gave the checkerboard tunic a special value in society, which was reinforced by the prevalence of its distinctive design...” writes Brinda Kumar, Associate Curator, Modern and Contemporary Art (Met Modern), in her essay on an Inca tunic (1400–1535 CE) in The Met collection. Reflecting on the enduring visual power of the checkerboard pattern and the grid, Kumar was drawn to a motif whose resonance extends across time and cultures. In the history of modern art, the grid became one of the defining structures through which 20th-century artists from Piet Mondrian to Agnes Martin explored abstraction. Artists such as Victor Vasarely and Bridget Riley investigated the optical effects of checkerboard and grid-based compositions, and Kumar considers how premodern artists may have harnessed some of these same visual properties centuries earlier.
Read more in “Points of View,” a compendium of short, thought-provoking essays with cross-disciplinary insights by the staff of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Shop the book through the link in bio or pick up a copy at The Met Fifth Avenue. Available now from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Publications.
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👕 Inca artist(s), Tunic, 1400–1535 CE. Camelid fiber. On view in Gallery 363 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
