Chuquibamba Mantle, South Highlands, 1400-1550 CE. Size: 3'0'' x 7'0'' (91 x 213 cm). A superb example of the characteristic weavings of the Chuquibambas. Like all Andean tribes, design was tightly controlled as it functioned as an identifying banner of your heritage, while the weaver's challenge is to render unique beauty while staying within the general confines of their tribal identity. This alpaca warp-faced cloth is very complex and time-consuming to produce, as numerous scaffold wefts and warps would have to be employed to handle the color changes. Like a lot of Inca period garments, the number 4 is repeatedly referenced in the number of designs, 4 x 8, and the colors utilized. The overall stylized images are predominantly profile pelicans in flight with triangular heads and frontal shamans and Supay images shown in some squares.

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