Vintage Rare Bolivian Women’s Sash With Abstract Design (Item 0563)

Description

This is a Quechua woman’s sash (faja) worn over the skirt at the waist of a cholita. The sash has basically three design bands that resemble alphabetical characters, separated by stripes in three colors, red, green, and orange (Bolivian national colors) on the outer edges; the two inside stripes are red, black (possibly green at one time), and orange.
The
anthropomorphic, zoomorphic, and geometric patterns usually woven into a textile often tell complex stories of the interactions between the artisans and their natural environment—this one is an enigma. The “almost” letter form patterns used in the three dominant bands leave the question of their meaning unanswered.
One tie end does not seem consistent in quality or style suggesting it is not original to this sash. The original may have become too worn and the sash was handed down to a second or third generation for repair. Dimensions are 5” wide x 45” long, less the ties. Ties are 25” and 30”. The longer tie has symbols of a woman and birds although they are difficult to see.
This sash is offered in the state it was acquired
in Cochabamba, Bolivia in 1966.