Belt Item Number: 3486/116 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Wide belt (chumpi) that displays figurative images along its length, including a locomotive with 3 train cars, 2 ships, a lion and some geometric patterns.
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.