Two years ago a girlfriend and I set up 'lana' which was our attempt at trying to bring the unique and beautiful aguayo rug from Northern Argentina and Bolivia to our friends.
Sadly, we didn't get very far before we were flummoxed by problems exporting from Argentina and the onset of the economic crisis... But, thankfully it seems that these beautiful rugs are making into the market now. Last summer in various European design magazines they were featured and you definitely do see more of them around now.
The aguayos have been used in the Andean region since pre-hispanic times and are regularly worn by Aymara & Quechua women to carry their babies and personal goods. Each region has its own colors, designs & techniques. Weaving of each aguayo is done in two separate parts which are then sewn together; this central seam shows decorative details and colors that highlight the beauty of the tapestry. The dyes are all natural.
Today, there are two types of aguayo -
i)The ancient ones which make wonderful wall hangings or can be used to upholster furniture - chairs, benches etc.
Note - They are not that big. They range btw 70cm by 50cm and 120cm by 100m.
And
ii) The more modern machine made version - which tends to be larger and less detailed in design.
You can usually tell the difference btw an ancient aguayo and a machine produced one by the vibrant colour. The ancient ones tend to show signs of fading, this is simply down to age and the fact that the natural dyes fade after extended exposure to the sun.
Good places to source aguayos and upholstered furniture using aguayos are - elementos argentinos, la puskana & la viva home...
Oh and yes, also lana !!! We still have some aguayos which are all in the UK. Please contact me for further info.
Prices start at $50usd
Images taken from la puskana, la viva home & lana
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