Minneapolis Institute of Art

Poncho (Punchu)

Bolivia

Date

20th century

Medium

Wool ikat

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

Since the Spanish conquest, sheep’s wool has joined alpaca, llama, and vicuña wool as a preferred fiber for weaving. Today, machine-spun yarn has become a symbol of status, but many garments are still made of hand-spun wool. The traditional spinning process takes part in three stages. The raw wool is first spun into a fine strand, and then spun again to create two plies. After it is dyed, it is re-spun very tightly, into what is called a “crepe twist.” This third and final step produces extremely elastic, fine yarn that creates a warm and durable garment. The zig zag and diamond patterns in this poncho were created by resist-dyeing (ikat). Bolivia, Americas

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