TYPE: An elite ‘Jesuit’ poncho (upper-class mans ‘cape’), Bolivia

CIRCA: 1800’s / 19th C.

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A so-called ‘Jesuit poncho’ woven in a Jesuit Mission textile workshop in Bolivia sometime during the 1800’s specifically for use by the clergy or the aristocracy (sometimes referred to as a ‘Balandran style’ poncho, it is a sleeveless garment with unsewn sides and a space for the head to pass through). As elite garments*, they were a source of revenue for the Missions, with some weaving striped ponchos as seen here, while others specialised in more complicated designs, but always with reference to the indigenous design ethic. It is constructed of six identical 21cm wide stripes that were cut to size lengthwise and then stitched together edge to edge leaving a slit in the very center for the head to fit though, after which the multi-coloured 5cm all-round fringe was added. An elite garment, it was woven in the ‘warp-faced weave’ technique by local labour under the direction of the Jesuit missionaries on a treadle loom using what appear to be fine camelid fibres for the warp and cotton for the weft. As might be expected it contains both European and indigenous design elements and the overall size including the fringe is 134cm x 182cm, and the dyes appear to be from natural sources. It is in reasonably good condition for a well used garment of its age as it has some staining throughout, and a few loose parts in the fringe, but it has no repairs or reconstructions. It has had only the one owner since being collected in Bolivia during the 1970’s and is a collectible heirloom type garment from the 19th century.

* According to renowned collector and textile expert William Siegal (of The William Siegal Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico) “Although Ponchos had been used by Andean Peoples for thousands of years, it was in Jesuit workshops that large Balandrán style ponchos were first mass produced for export to Spain and for local use in the 17th century. These Ponchos became a symbol of status first worn by Mestizos who could not afford expensive European cloth. Later, the style was adopted by the Aymara after many of their traditional garments were outlawed by the Spanish following native uprisings at the end of the 18th century.”