The Tapadas Limeñas (Veiled women)
A symbol of the Peruvian nation - a "tapada" - the traditional garment worn by Peruvian women.
Costumes of Lima. Sixteen years in Chile and Peru (Between 1822 and 1841) by Fisher, Son and Co. Printing HouseNational Library of Peru
What does "tapadas" mean?
The incredible ‘tapadas’ were women who, during the Peruvian viceroyalty and the early days of the Republic, wore a cloak that covered their faces, leaving only one eye visible. This style arrived in America with the Arab presence in Spain and soon became a sensation.
A symbol of Creole nationalism
In the 19th century, artists and travellers were inspired by these women, which they painted and wrote about.
The first representations
"Tapadas" were popular in Peru from the 16th century, even though religious art was the most common style in the country until the 18th century. They first appeared in Amedée Frézier's 1714 book Relation du voyage de la Mer du Sud.
Roman Vestals?
This character is a Spanish woman wrapped in her mantilla. Frézier compared her to a Roman vestal due to her clothing.
Two Female Domestics of Lima (1805)National Library of Peru
Liman "tapadas" and travelers
In the 18th century, travellers wrote about the American lands that many didn't know about. They wrote about the "tapadas", who were interesting because of their clothing and behaviour.
In the 18th century, travellers were keen to represent the world scientifically. In the 19th century, they wanted to show the world through their customs and clothing. This image shows two women wearing a skirt and cloak.
[Tapadas, engraving] (1854) by Ignacio Merino, engraverNational Library of Peru
Ignacio Merino's view
Image of "tapadas" by the Peruvian artist Ignacio Merino in the book Lima por dentro y por fuera (1854 edition) by the Spanish writer Terralla y Landa.
Representation of society
The Lima "tapadas" were represented by multiple travelers as figures of coquetry and mystery, but also as part of the social life of the time, interacting with others, and moving through squares, walks and streets of the city.
"Tapadas" in Latin American Art
The "tapadas" were a popular motif in Latin American art from the 19th century. Peru's National Library has many nostalgic images, including covered women that became a national symbol.
[Lady at mass] (Around the middle of the 19th century) by Ignacio MerinoNational Library of Peru
Lady at the fair, I. Merino, 1844
The "tapadas" became the national emblem like the gaucho in Argentina or the charro in Mexico. They embodied the white, Creole and coastal Lima, therefore they represented the national discourse of the elites, far from the Andean and indigenous people.
The "tapadas" as a symbol
The "tapadas" left out women of other ethnic identities, originally to distinguish themselves because they were often from a higher class, but this style was quickly adopted by Christian women and other ethnic groups.
[Tapada and her servant] (Around the middle of the 19th century) by AnonymousNational Library of Peru
Liman "tapadas" and her page-boy, Pancho Fierro, ca. 1845.
This watercolour is by Pancho Fierro, the most representative Peruvian of the costumbrism art movement. He painted various characters from Lima, but the ones in costume were his most widespread images.
The memories
In this watercolor we see a "tapadas" from Lima accompanied by her page, a young Afro-Peruvian, heading to church. These images satisfied the demands of the market, mainly that of travelers who acquired them as souvenirs.
What about identity?
Since "tapadas" clothing spread in the Peruvian viceroyalty, the authorities wanted to prohibit it on different occasions in the 16th and 17th centuries. This is because by cancelling the identity of the person who used it, it was viewed with suspicion due to the freedoms it allowed.
Freedom?
The cloak became sort of a sign of emancipation because women could go outside safely, without the constant supervision of a man, and so they had more freedom.
The agency of women
The "tapadas" were women who wore clothing that allowed them to move around freely and be social and political agents.
The time of the prohibition
In 1624, fines and imprisonment were ordered for women who wore veils and for men who talked to them. Despite the prohibitions, the covered ones remained until the 19th century.
[Lady taking off her skirt and cloak] (Around the middle of the 19th century) by AnonymousNational Library of Peru
The independence
“Single, she escapes the dominance of her parents...because of the freedom that her suit gives her; when she gets married,
She does not take her husband's name, she keeps hers and is the mistress of her house [...].
She proceeds in everything with the same independence of action [as man]."
(Tristán 2012, 131).
Tristan's remarks
Tristan's observation highlights that while the viceroyalty indeed imposed a deeply patriarchal and restrictive framework for women, the suit provided them with agency and a degree of freedom, enabling them to challenge and disrupt the order.
"Tapadas" photographs in the 19th and 20th centuries
In the 19th century, photos of the "tapadas" were taken. This clothing was no longer used and was replaced by French fashion. Wives, sisters or friends of the photographers wore the clothes and posed. People wanted photos of the "tapadas" because they represented Lima.
Text by Teófilo Castillo in the magazine Variedades about Pancho Fierro and the "tapadas" of Lima. In it he refers to the possible origin of the suit, how flattering it is, its different types and comments on some of Fierro's works.
Of national art. Pancho Fierro II [p. 1228] (1918) by Teófilo CastilloNational Library of Peru
"[...] In hiding their faces, presenting the occurrence to a thousand misunderstandings and intrigues. Hence the abuses and the frequent ordinances that tried to regulate the use of the cloak; ordinances that, of course, the women of Lima insisted on not complying with"
Bazán, A. (2018). Body, movement and eroticism: readings on the Lima "tapadas" in scriptural and visual representations between the years 1830-1850 [Bachelor's thesis, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú]. https://tesis.pucp.edu.pe/repositorio/handle/20.500.12404/10346
National Library of Peru. (n/d). The construction of tradition. Customs watercolors from the Praetoria album. https://memoriaperu.bnp.gob.pe/#/micrositio21/construccion-tradicion
Majluf, N. (2008). “Pancho Fierro, between myth and history.” In N. Majluf and M. Burke
(Eds.), Types of Peru: The Creole Lima of Pancho Fierro (17-50). Madrid: El Viso.
Schwarz, H. (2021). Business cards. Herman's study and selection
Schwarz. Lima: National Library of Peru.
Tristán, F. (2012). “Pilgrimages of an Outcast (1841).” In S. Regazzoni (Ed.), Anthology of Hispanic American writers of the 19th century (pp. 111-132). Madrid: Chair.
Villegas, F. (2011). “Enlightened American customs: the Peruvian case. Original images in the era of technical reproduction. Annals of the Museum of America, (19), pp.7-67.
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