Mantle

The mantle is a very light-weight, in fact sheer, fabric, not one that could possibly be considered to have a utilitarian function for warmth or weather protection. It is like a flag worn for the world to see. In Andean weaving, art always seems to come before function. Although virtually all Andean textiles were actually garments, rarely are they constructed in a way that we would consider useful or protective. The effort involved in creating this textile would be difficult to estimate, but it is a convincing demonstration of the way in which art and design were the be-all end-all of Andean weaving. The mantle is a very light-weight, in fact sheer, fabric, not one that could possibly be considered to have a utilitarian function for warmth or weather protection. It is like a flag worn for the world to see. In Andean weaving, art always seems to come before function. Although virtually all Andean textiles were actually garments, rarely are they constructed in a way that we would consider useful or protective. The effort involved in creating this textile would be difficult to estimate, but it is a convincing demonstration of the way in which art and design were the be-all end-all of Andean weaving.