This could easily be translated into a quilt pattern for the modern sewist. It’s ancient modern though – a detail of a woven shirt from the Wari period, Peru.
Here’s another textile from the Wari period, a tunic made from small pieces of cloth each tie-dyed. Patchwork from dyed cloth back in 750-950 CE, amazing.
Image 1 source: Mastercraftsmen of Ancient Peru by Alan R. Sawyer / Guggenheim archives
Image 2 source: Wikipedia/ Wari culture from Textile Museum, Washington D.C.
[…] http://quilting.craftgossip.com/whats-ancient-is-new-again-in-textiles/2012/01/10/ Interesting woven fabric – could be a new quilt design. Styles always come around again -this looks so modern it could have been designed now. […]