Aymara Mourning Poncho

This Aymara mourning poncho was woven in late 19th century Bolivia. This plain-weave garment is deceptively simple at first glance, but on closer inspection the complexity of the color pallet becomes clear. The Aymara weaver who designed this tunic chose to use different colors for the warp and weft, layering black and red yarn to give the garment a compelling depth of color.