Bag Item Number: 3486/66 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
A looped bag (shicra, Spanish; sikra, Quechua) with a multicolour design of stepped diagonals. The bag has long narrow proportions and a shoulder strap.
Different types of Andean bags (bolsas, generic term, Spanish) have different names and characteristics.
The leaves of the plant, the bag is made from, are beaten to free the long fibres, which are also used for ropes and baskets and they are dyed before being looped. The fibre is twisted with the fingers a few inches at a time, while the looping progresses. The bags are made in circular rows starting at the bottom in a structure called “loop and twist”. The fibres are twisted in the S direction while the structure included a twist in the Z direction. The opposition balances out and keeps the element from becoming unruly. The looping is done without a needle, relying on the stiffness of the element to land each loop stitch in the correct position.
The donor acquired the bag from Maria Elena del Solar in Lima, in 2011. del Solar collected it in the district of San Andres de Tupicocha, Huarochirí, in the uplands between the Rimac and Lurin Valleys.