Hat Item Number: 3486/28 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
A small knitted cap (chullu) made of handspun and dyed fibre, probably sheep’s wool. Birds and geometric designs.
Small size indicates it is a boy’s cap. Knitting was introduced to the Andes after the Spanish Conquest. Knitting is more often done by men, particularly for their caps (chullu, in Quechua). Variations in colours, designs, and fineness in chullus, as well as additions, are used to signal differences in affiliation, age, gender, status, rank, etc., particularly in some communities such as Taquile, Peru where little girls as well as boys and men wear variants of the chullu. Knitting in the round is done on 5 needles that are often fashioned from bicycle spokes.
Bought by the donor in 1983 in the Pisac market. Said to be from Tambobamba (Cotabambas province).
The cap was knitted in the round on five needles.