Shirt Item Number: Sf999 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Description
Shirt of natural white wool with slash neck, stand-up collar and long, straight sleeves. The collar is embroidered at the front outside with slashes of bright coloured yarn and outlined with a red band. The front bottom of the shirt is shorter than the back. The fabric is thick and somewhat felted with some black wool woven in along the back bottom edge.
History Of Use
Bayeta, a type of coarse cloth, is made on the treadle loom and is used for garments that are cut to size and sewn, such as trousers, shirts and vests. The style, the construction and the loom used are derived from Spanish peasant tradition. Handspun sheep's wool is the traditional material but synthetic yarns are now used as well. In Taquile, white shirts are traditionally worn by unmarried girls and women and red shirts are worn by married women. Today, many married women wear pink or red pullover sweaters and few red bayeta shirts are seen. Girls, however, continue to wear shirts of this type. Girl's shirts differ from shirts for males in having straight cuffless sleeves and no collars.
Narrative
Bought from Elena Quispe Flores in Taquile. Made by her adoptive father, Ascencio Huatta Yucra, for her use, about 1985. She wore it in her mid to late teens before she was married. Her husband, Domingo Quispe Cruz, added the embroidery to the collar.
Iconographic Meaning
White shirts distinguish unmarried women and girls from married women who wear red.
Specific Techniques
Z spun wool yarns woven in roughly balanced plain weave fabric. Rectangular garment parts cut from bolt of material and sewn together by hand and machine. Feather-stitch (variation of buttonhole stitch) embroidery on collar.
Item History
- Made by Ascencio Huatta Yucra (Maker) in Taquile, Puno, Peru between 1984 and 1986
- Collected by Mary Frame during 1987
- Owned by Elena Flores Quispe
- Owned by Mary Frame before November 3, 1987
- Received from Mary Frame (Seller) and Museum of Anthropology Shop Volunteers (Funding source) on November 3, 1987
What
- Name
- Shirt
- Identification Number
- Sf999
- Type of Item
- shirt
- Material
- wool fibre, synthetic fibre and dye
- Manufacturing Technique
- spun, woven, sewn and embroidered
- Overall
- height 60.0 cm, width 118.0 cm, depth 3.8 cm
Who
- Culture
- Quechua
- Creator
- Ascencio Huatta Yucra (Maker)
- Field Collector
- Mary Frame
- Previous Owner
- Elena Flores Quispe and Mary Frame
- Received from
- Mary Frame (Seller) and Museum of Anthropology Shop Volunteers (Funding source)
Where
- Holding Institution
- MOA: University of British Columbia
- Made in
- Taquile, Puno, Peru
When
- Creation Date
- between 1984 and 1986
- Collection Date
- during 1987
- Ownership Date
- before November 3, 1987
- Acquisition Date
- on November 3, 1987
Other
- Item Classes
- textiles
- Condition
- good
- Accession Number
- 1274/0017