Vintage Peruvian Manta, Hand Woven Village Weaving

Description

Vintage Peruvian Manta, hand-woven village textile with entire surface depicting vivid animal and human motifs.
Mid 20th-C, sheep's wool, 40" x 44" from the Cuzco region.
Each traditional village in the Andean region would have its own distinctive women's manta and men's poncho designs.  The patterns would include elements related to village or family tradition, and the colors would be the same, although each weaver would create their own unique variations.
Woven on a back-strap or floor loom in two pieces, then joined.  The patterned sections, in this case the entire surface (except the narrow dark strips) are double-woven, so that the images reverse colors on the opposite side of the textile.