Tiwanaku Textiles Alpaca Sweater
In the Bolivian high plains, amid the snowcapped Andes, the pre-Inca Tiwanaku culture thrived for more than 500 years. So far only a fraction of the civilization's ruins have been excavated, yet it has yielded some of the earliest and more remarkably well-preserved textiles found in the Americas. Their art features highly abstracted figures, that originally expressed real places, animals, or cultural events but over time became icons with symbolic meaning. The high degree of abstraction in the art of Tiwanaku has inspired several art historians to compare their art to modern abstract movements, including Cubism. The intricate, interlocked geometric patterns on this alpaca fiber sweater are adapted from woven Tiwanaku tunics made around 500 A.D.
Hand-knit in Bolivia by artisans. 100% alpaca. Men’s sizes M (38-40), L (42-44), XL (46-48), XXL (50-52).
Hand-wash or dry clean.
Indigenous people in South America have raised alpaca for its fleece for thousands of years before Europeans learned about the animal and exported alpaca fiber to Spain in the 16th and 17th centuries. Today this domesticated animal is bred throughout the world, but its native habitat is the Andean altiplano: Ecuador, southern Peru, northern Bolivia, and northern Chile.
Descended from the wild vicuña, alpaca resemble a cross between a llama and a sheep. Its fleece is similar to sheep's wool, but is usually softer, less prickly, and has minimal lanolin content, making it virtually hypoallergenic. Its extreme warmth, relatively light weight, and natural resistance to water make alpaca wool an ideal fabric for the frigid winters of the Andean altiplano. These qualities have also led to a rise in the use of alpaca fiber in outdoor gear and active wear, although it is also easily spun into a fine enough yarn for use in suits and other dress wear.
Most alpaca products can be treated as you would an object made of sheep's wool—hand wash using a mild soap and lukewarm water, or dry clean—but check the tag or manufacturer's instructions for specific instructions.
From National Geographic:Thank you for sharing your comments about this sweater. We regret that it did not live up to your expectations. A product made of multiple yarns often looks different in a photograph. This is not a defect but rather is a quality of the natural wool.