ArtAndes Blog

The primary source for most ArtAndes rug designs is rooted in Pre-Inca Peruvian culture. However this 'Chuspa' or Coca Leaf Bag is inspired by the Inca Culture from 1460. I just LOVE how it turned out. The last Lima museum visit made with the Quispe family continues to add rug ideas that carry forward.

A chuspa (which is Quechua for bag) is a pouch that is used to cocoa leaves & llipta ( ball of ash or lime), used primarily in the Andean region of Peru & Bolivia. Both textiles and coca are very important to the people in the Andes. Chuspas are a vital piece of culture, the bags are also a way to showcase the cloth, which in itself is a primary artistic medium. These pouches are important symbols of social identity. As part of this tradition, chuspas show to the rest of their people how skilled they are in weaving.