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• 1 2024-09-01T13:31:30+00:00 Skirt (Shipibo-Conibo) 4 plain 2024-09-01T14:36:48+00:00
  Maker Once Known, Shipibo-Conibo People (Peru)
  Skirt (pre-1966)
  cotton, dye, paint
  66.68 x 73.0 cm
  Field collected by Barry R. Bainton, with funds from the Haffenreffer Special Fund
  67-6554
  
  This is a skirt, created by a Shipibo-Conibo woman in Peru. The tribes of Shipibo (apemen) and Conibo (fishmen) peoples were originally two separate communities, but have since coalesced one distinct culture (Shipibo-Conibo) through intermarriage and shared ritual. These communities make up an ethnic subgroup of Peru's culture today, living in both urban and Amazonian regions. This skirt is a vivid example of kené, the highly distinctive artform for which the Shipibo-Conibo are most widely recognized. Comprised of closely spaced linear designs and geometric motifs, kené holds a deep symbolic meaning as these motifs "represent the worldview of indigenous peoples, energy pathways, the Milky Way, the geography of the forest, the wildlife, and others." As described in a post about kené, this is an artform that is passed down generationally:

  "From a young age, girls learn the intricacies of creating kené designs by observing and learning from their mothers and grandmothers. The process of creating kené is a meditative and intuitive one, where the artists allow the patterns to flow from their inner vision onto the surface they are decorating. Remarkably, the women do not use any measuring tools or sketches when creating kene designs. Instead, they rely on their skill and spiritual connection to create intricate and symmetrical patterns."

  In the case of textiles like this one, these designs are often painted on the cloth first, and they then may be later embroidered or appliquéd to further articulate and embellish the design. You can see some of these steps in the photos here.
  
  This Shipibo-Conibo skirt has been created from store-bought cotton cloth that has been dyed and painted with kené designs in a black or dark brown pigment. After this step, the artist used the appliqué technique to add the colorful strips of fabric which accent the design, accompanied by chain stitch embroidery. Shipibo-Conibo women routinely wear skirts embellished with these kené patterns; beautiful objects of utility in daily life.