Loom Item Number: Sf1160 a-b from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Description
Loom for making wrist bands (parts a-b) consisting of a piece of branch wood (part a) that is bent and tied into a teardrop shape. It is bound only at the point where the two ends meet. Attached to the loom is a half completed wristlet with two shuttles. Part b is the wood beater or weaving sword, in an elongated diamond shape, made out of very hard wood. One end of beater is a sharp point, the other end is blunt.
History Of Use
Used to make wristlets. Worn by men and women.
Narrative
Bought from "Los Alamos", a shop in Lima run by an anthropologist Gertrud Braunsburger de Solari. The Mayoruna live in widely scattered groups along the Rio Javari, which over much of its course marks the boundary between Brazil and Peru.
Specific Techniques
The loom is worked with the pointed end facing downward. It is rested against an object, so it is slanted in a convenient working position. The sword is the only shed making device and the fingers are used to pick up and cross appropriate the warp threads to make the designs. After one row has been picked, a weft is inserted. That same row is 'saved' on a small stick and pushed to the upper end of the warp. When the wristlet is half woven, the sheds that have been saved on the sticks are brought down one at a time and replaced by the weft. When both are complete, they are cut apart and the ends are twisted and knotted and passed through the heading at the other end to make a closure.
Item History
- Made in Peru ? or Brazil ? between 1970 and 1984
- Collected in Lima, Peru
- Owned by Mary Frame before May 8, 1986
- Received from Mary Frame (Seller) and Museum of Anthropology Shop Volunteers (Funding source) on May 8, 1986
What
- Name
- Loom
- Identification Number
- Sf1160 a-b
- Type of Item
- loom
- Material
- wood and palm fibre
- Part A
- height 44.6 cm, width 30.2 cm, depth 2.4 cm
- Part B
- height 3.5 cm, width 37.3 cm, depth 0.3 cm
Who
- Culture
- Mayoruna
- Previous Owner
- 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
- Peru ? or Brazil ?
- Collected in
- Lima, Peru
When
- Creation Date
- between 1970 and 1984
- Ownership Date
- before May 8, 1986
- Acquisition Date
- on May 8, 1986
Other
- Item Classes
- basketry
- Condition
- good
- Accession Number
- 1131/0011 a-b