Belt Item Number: 3486/116 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Wide woven belt (chumpi) in synthetic yarn, finished on both ends with braids that are sewn together. The vibrant design features figurative images in green along the length of the belt against a background of horizontal stripes in light pink, white, red, yellow, white, and hot pink, mirrored at the horizontal centreline. The green imagery features a lion, a ship with the word “VARCO” integrated in it, flowers, a locomotive with three train cars, geometric diamond and triangular motifs, and another “VARCO” ship. Thin borders with geometric and ‘s’ shapes appear along the top and bottom edges, worked in green against neon orange, and yellow against purple.
Belts of different types are used by men, women, and children, and some have special names. Most belts are called chumpi (Quechua) or cinterone (Spanish). Some belts are associated with pregnant women and their babies, where they are used to fasten the swaddling cloths around the infant. Belts for children are usually smaller in size. In some areas, very wide belts are worn with a stiff underbelt, which acts as a back support. Belts in Andean villages are usually made on a continuous warp and the last few inches are finished by braiding. A wide variety of techniques are used to pattern the belts. The imagery woven on belts is usually drawn from a set of geometric and figurative icons that are combined in ways that are distinctive of a particular community.
Purchased by the donor in Huancayo in 1982.
Woven in a complementary warp weave with 3-span floats in alternating alignment. This is an “intermesh” variant of complementary warp weave.