The Mapuche were highly skilled weavers who created ponchos, belts, women’s dresses, shawls, headbands, and blankets of extraordinary quality. This magnificent, well-preserved poncho is woven with several different red and maroon colors and, importantly, with a stepped-diamond motif associated with authority and power in Mapuche society.

poncho, article of clothing of ancient origin, a cloak made of a square or rectangle of cloth with a hole in the middle through which the wearer’s head protrudes. The original poncho, consisting of a rough, brightly coloured, handloomed cloth, was worn in early cultures of Latin America .

One of the best-known arts of the Mapuche is their textiles. The tradition of Mapuche textile production dates back to pre-Hispanic times and continues up to this day. Prior to the 20th century Mapuche textiles and ponchos in particular were important trade items. In Andean societies, textiles had a great importance.

Ponchos are an evolution of a type of Precolumbian tunic worn in the southern highlands of Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. Over time, ponchos replaced tunics as the primary woven garment worn by men in the viceregal period.

From its origins in Chile, the poncho was most likely introduced into the Bolivian highlands by Jesuit priests in the late 17 th century from their extensive textile workshop or obraje system (Adelson and Tracht 1983, 65) and it became a widespread symbol of male identity after the tunic was banned in 1781. This new law came as a result of the ...

The poncho, the rider’s fundamental clothing, was the most commonly used garment in the Andean region of our continent. It was worn by natives who lived both in the mountains and in the plains...

Poncho Place Peru (Object made in) Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

This poncho reflects ancient artistic techniques in the Andean highlands such as hand-spinning alpaca fibers, finishing all edges on the loom, and creating a woven structure that highlights vertical warp yarns.

"Untailored Garments," January 26–July 2, 1972. The Met's collection of art of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North, Central, and South America comprises more than eleven thousand works of art of varied materials and types, representing diverse cultural traditions from as early as 3000 B.C.E. to the present.

The poncho is a piece of clothing traditionally worn by the indigenous peoples of the Andes region. It is much like a large cloak that covers the shoulders down, and is designed to keep the body warm, typical of the characteristically cold weather of the region from which it originated.