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Pitt Rivers Museum

1997.2.1

Half a woman's wraparound mourning overskirt


1997.2.1

Digital asset copyright: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

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Collection type
Object
Description
Half a woman's wraparound mourning overskirt
Long description
Half a woman's wraparound mourning overskirt, similar to that illustrated and dexcribed by Meisch (1986; 1997:11, 62, cat. no. 10). The prehispanic aksu was worn with the warp horizontal, pinned over one shoulder and tied at the waist with a belt. Nowadays it is worn as an overskirt over an almilla, a tailored dress of European origin. [Linda Mowat, 1998.] Complete textile with four selvages. Warp-faced plain weave. Black ground with three decorative bands (pallay) of complementary warp patterning in white and black, separated by narrow plain white warp stripes. Designs include zigzags, diagonal crosses and diamonds. (Skirts for daily and fiesta wear also have black ground, but with coloured stripes.) Sheep's wool. Warp contains sections of lluq'i (backward spun) yarn in the weft selvage next to the pallay, giving a subtle herringbone effect. This is typical of Tarabuco skirts and is said to have protective properties (Meisch 1986:250). Warp spin: Z2S, S2Z; weft Z2S; warp count 38 epi (15/cm); weft count 13 ppi: (5/cm) . (Described by donor as half a llijlla or shawl.)
Cultural groups
Quechua
Person
Field collector Robin Woodhouse
PRM source Robin Woodhouse
PRM source Paula Woodhouse
Date / Period
Date made: Before 1975
Date collected
1974 - 1975
Acquisition information
Donated: 1996
Materials and processes
Material Wool Textile Animal, Process Woven
Dimensions
Length x Width 980 x 670 mm
Object numbers
Accession number: 1997.2.1 Other numbers: L2
Research and responses

For a list of the works consulted by Linda Mowat while cataloguing this collection, see RDF. [JC 26 8 2013]

Search terms: Clothing, Death, Textile, Skirt