TEXTILES
Note: More textiles will be added shortly....Stay tuned!
"There has always been a ready supply of excellent fiber in South America.
Inhabitants of the highlands favored the lustrous hair of the native American
camelids, the guanaco and vicuna and the domesticated alpaca and llama. It
is in this high, mountainous land that the llama was domesticated into an
excellent pack animal whose hair was used for ropes, bags, and blankets, the
alpaca was bred for a permanent fiber supply, and the vicuna's fine hair was
coveted as the most highly prized fiber. It is difficult to conceive of a
period when Andean highlanders did not spin and weave camelid hair
... life and cloth in the Andes are ever entwined!"
"Traditional Textiles of the Andes"
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"Ch'ullu" (Knit Hat)
Highlands, Southern Cusco Department, Peru
ca. First half 20th Century
Height: 7"
Width: 9"
Rounded cap, Tinta area (?); wool with popcorn stitch patterning and tassel-like long tufts; kaleidoscopic pattern and glowing colors characterize the knitted folk art of Peru & Bolivia; the fathers, or less often mothers, makes the first few caps, and if an infant grows out of his "ch'ullu", a father may put his own on his little son and knit a new one for himself!
$85
Fiesta "Ch'ullu" (hat)
Probably Village of Ccatca, near Cuzco, Peru
ca. 2nd Half 20th Century
Height: 9", minus tassel
Fiesta "ch'ullu", knit by males, both boys and men;this cap exemplifies the area's intricate knitting style; not counting white stitches, the multicolored diamonds in the widest pattern band required 42 color changes; finely spun, hand-dyed wool.
$21
Wrapped Wool Hair Tie
Peruvian Highlands of the Quechua People
ca. First Half 20th Century
Length: 24"
Multi-strand, multi-colored, finely-spun, hand-dyed & wrapped wool; commonly known as a "watana" or "wata" amongst the Quechua people;
$32
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