Weaving Silver: Brilliance and Sheen in Colonial Andean Textiles

Type:

Book Chapter

Author:

Elena Phipps

Published:

2023

Publisher:

British Academy

Abstract Precolumbian artisans understood very well how to incorporate materials to make shiny and glimmering garments, composed of gold and silver plaques or colourful feathers stitched onto the surface of cloth. But it was not until the Spanish introduction of metal yarns, composed of silver or gilt silver sheet strips wrapped around a core yarn that Andean textile traditions developed to incorporate these special elements into a woven cloth. This chapter examines at the ways in which silver and the idea of woven brilliance manifests in the textiles from the 16 th century onwards. Its focus is how the concept of lustre in cloth– lipi in the Quechua language—constructed especially through the use of precious metals and silk, also connects to different aspects of Andean cultural value systems as illa .

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