Brown-Purple Textured Handwoven Alpaca Blend Shoulder Bag, "Cusco Dove"

Crafted by hand, this delightful morral combines rich textures with browns, purple and navy blue. Artisan members of Peru's Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco first knot the yarn before it is woven on a backstrap loom. The motifs derive from Inca art in an effort to keep the traditional patterns and techniques alive as well as their Andean identity. This texture is known as urpi, which means "dove" in the Quechua language.

The community raises and cares for its own alpacas. The fleece is washed, carded and spun by hand using a pushka, or drop spindle. The dyes come from plants, nuts and tree bark. The next step is one of the most important, as the artisan prepares the warp, or vertical threads for the backstrap loom. This determines the size of the textile, the color combinations, and the patterns that will be woven.

The intensity of color can vary depending on the hardness of the water, the altitude and the local dye sources, making each textile a unique piece of handcrafted art.