Frank Sherman Benson Fund

Frank Sherman Benson Fund

Anonymous Donor.

Red saddlebag with five tassels, rectangular in shape with a tapered point at the bottom edge. A geometric design embroidered in the centre portion of the bag represents a “cow in the tree/bush” motif. The design itself is embroidered with brown sheep’s wool yarn. A light brown yarn is stitched around the design as a border. There are five tassels at the base of the bag each with three sections of horse hair. Around each of the tassels there is a blue, yellow and red pattern wrapped around the tassel itself. Many of the tassels are knotted. The horse hair is tied to the tassel with a red-orange piece of material. The bag also has a strap that has light brown, orange, yellow and green lines. On either side of the bag where the strap begins are three tassels each with a different coloured end (orange blue and yellow). Also attached to the tassels are several beads (black and white) and round metal discs.

A man’s brown winter coat, or robe, open at the front with long sleeves. The brown wool (“pusp”) is natural, undyed sheep’s wool. Around the collar and the shoulder sections there is an embroidered design in the same brown wool yarn. On the front of the coat, there are two decorative tassels on either side of the opening, near where the wearer’s upper chest would be. The tassel is sewn on to the coat at the centre point of an embroidered round design, also in the same brown wool yarn. The tassel is mainly brown but there are coloured threads wrapped around the brown thread with silver being the most predominant thread colour. At the end of the tassel, the strands are broken into four sections and there is a woven design at the end of each of the sections.

Brooklyn Museum Collection

Two piece shawl or llijlla woven with wide bands called pampakuna of indigo and multi-striped geometric panels at the sides of each section forming a double width central panel. Other colors are burgundy red, green, yellow white, black and purple. The tubular edge binding or ribete in burgundy with ojo de gato (or diamond shaped) lozenges in blue and white.

Frank Sherman Benson Fund

Frank Sherman Benson Fund

A man's two-piece striped poncho. Stripes with geometric patterns have widths that are medium and wide, while stripes with solid colors have widths that are narrow. Because of the textile having been washed, natural white alpaca fleece has been changed to a light pink in places. Neck opening and poncho selvages have the same sewn-on edge of braid binding and fringe. Predominant colors of object are dark red and white with stripes of green, yellow and black. At the center of each of the two pieces that make up the poncho are a trio of large parallal diamond-patterned stripes with a narrower patterned stripe on each side. Narrow solid-colored stripes alternate with patterned stripes. The sewn-on braiding edge has diamond designs in yellow, green, dark red, and white; woven into the braid is a bright fringe of pink green, orange, red, white, black, brown and purple. To create curved edges on the poncho, each of the four corners has been sewn down.The object is complete and its overall condition is good. It was purchased unused. Condition: excellent.