Old Peruvian Woman's Manta

Large older woman's garment from Cuzco region, measuring 33 x 37 inches
This is an all wool woman's manta from one of the Inca villages around Cuzco, Peru. It is beautiful and quite nicely woven. Overall dimensions are 33 x 37 inches. It is made from handspun wool, hand-woven on an Andean loom. The two equal panels are sewn together with a fine but simple zig-zag stitch. The seam was then decorated with embroidered multi-pointed stars over part of its length. All dyes appear to be natural vegetal or mineral in origen, with a natural dark black/brown wool background. There is no tubular edging around the garment, but the edges all bear a selvage finish. On the top side there is an additional overlay cloth edging, stitched in a decorative manner.

The age of this manta is uncertain, but the style of the weaving and the wear on the embroidered areas and on the overlay edging indicates that it was made before 1960.

Condition is Very Good, with slight odor of mothballs from storage. Note the wear on the embroidery and edging, as shown in the photos below. There are no noticeable holes or repairs. There are also slight folds from storage.

All together, this is a very interesting example of an older Peruvian woman's manta.