Lliclla of Macha.

Lliclla of Macha. Caracara ethnic group. Potosi, Bolivia. Second half of the 20th century.

Beautiful piece woven with four edges, on a stake loom, with alpaca fiber spun manually on a spindle. It is made up of two panels joined by an ornamental central seam. The technique used is plain weave warp face for the pampa (the field) and complementary warp tillage for the pallai (the design streets or “drawing”). Measures. Length: 95 cm. Width: 114cm.

We read in the most rigorous study published so far on the textile cultures of present-day Bolivia and its areas of influence: “Among the four great towns of the south, together with the Charcas, was the Caracara nation, with its capital: Macha. The current designs of Macha textiles completely lack viceregal or republican influence, maintaining traits of pre-Hispanic ancestry. Its theme is purely geometric and abstract, based on rhombuses, zigzags and small hexagons.” [1]

As can be seen, this fine piece of trousseau, woven during the second half of the 20th century, keeps Macha's textile tradition alive in all aspects; both in the spinning and dyeing with cochineal scarlet to achieve the deep burgundy of the countryside, the purple that flanks the streets and alleys of farmland, and the red of the lateral lists, as well as in the ornamental design that is absolutely respectful of the symbols that this community embodied in its fabrics for more than five centuries.

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S.VIP 1 - DEM