Peruvian textiles have a long and rich history, one that continues today.
This article from 1920 comes from The Museum Journal, a publication that was produced by Penn Museum from 1910 to 1935, and it reveals the understanding of Peruvian textiles in the early Twentieth Century. Anni Albers, the famous Bauhaus weaver and artist, credited “my great teachers, the weavers of ancient Peru” in her book “On Weaving”. It is evident that Peru’s traditions of textile-making have had a huge influence across the globe.
Nowadays we tend to think of Peruvian textiles as those that are produced for the tourist market. However that is only part of the story. This article reveals more about the depths of these fabrics, and explains how the geographical location of the weaver and loom influences the colours and structures of these cloths.
This article was written in response to a visitor to the studio in Greymouth who came in to see the space. Living in Peru, our visitor explained that the traditions live on in the countryside, making links into the distant past. On the other side of the world our meeting was serendipitous. Isn’t it amazing how textiles bring people together to share stories?