Shipibo Artwork

[occidentalis]

Hi everyone,

we have a few pieces of Shipibo artwork for sale. We collected these on our recent trip to Peru and carried them (for far too long) to get them to our friends back here.

For anyone who doesn't know about the Shipibos and their artwork, you can read up on it here, here, or here.

There is a good chance that we will be able to order more artwork from our supplier in Peru, so please let us know if you miss out on one of these. Every piece is unique so we can't promise to get you one that looks the same, but we will email our friend the photos and ask for similar ones.

Much of the fabric is painted with dyes made out of mud and plants. It is not colour fast and will run. Therefore a lot of this artwork is NOT washable. We recommend that it is used as wall hangings or other decorations which will not need to be washed.

If you want to buy:

Please pm me to arrange postage and payment details if you would like to buy.

P&H is $10 flat rate.

For the small ones (ie if it fits in a small express post satchel) we will send it express.

We will not offer bulk discounts (at least at first), because we would prefer that this stuff got around to everyone who wants it rather than a couple of people who want it all.

We are also not interested in trading. Sorry barter economy, we still love you, but we're just hanging out with cash at the moment. Please don't ask for discounts or trades (unless you have something really fucking cool to trade ;) ).

I haven't measured all these pieces up - I'll get on to that later, but here's the photos for now.

Basically there are three types and sizes and a few odds and ends. Here they are:

The first ones are long 'mantas' or 'falas' (shawls or skirts). This first one has an applique and emroidered pattern with a painted fabric background. It's going for $120.

(item 1 has already sold)

Item 2 SOLD

The next ones are similar to the first but they have an embroidered or applique pattern in the centre on a black fabric background. These ones are slightly smaller than the first and are all $100.

Item 3 SOLD

Item 4

Item 5 SOLD

Item 6 SOLD

Item 7 SOLD

This one is the bomb. Beautiful tight symmetrical weaving. $200.

Item 8

One of the largest of the small embroidered pieces, $80.

Item 9

A large painted cloth (half the size of the other similar ones further down) $90

The next few are small embroidered patches. Could be put on a jacket or used as an altar cloth - mostly washable.

Item 10

$30

Edited May 10, 2010 by occidentalis

[occidentalis]

Item 11

$25

Item 12 SOLD

$30

Item 13

$40

Item 14

$35

Item 15

This one is bigger, and not washable. One of my favourites. $60.

Item 16

These were called 'serviettes'. Not sure why as they are not washable and kind of expensive for disposable use, but hey... they are small and cute. Every one is unique.

We have 6, and they are $10 each.

Item 17

This is a large brown painted cloth. $120.

Items 18

The next three are large white painted cloths. These are the ultimate in shamanic interior decoration. $120.

Item 19 SOLD

Item 20

Edited April 26, 2010 by occidentalis

[occidentalis]

Item 21

A shirt, will fit small to medium guy or medium to large woman. NOT washable. $60.

Item 22

A very funky little embroidered waistcoat. Very small, will fit small/slim women. This one is washable. It's missing one button and the other two are mismatching! So authentic ;).

There are a few more which I will get photos of up later.

Thanks for looking, please ask any questions here or by PM.

Please note

I've posted this here and at Australian Ethnobotany - I will check both sites regularly and try and update them both with what has sold. If by chance two people want to buy the same item on the two sites, I will have a 'first PM received wins' policy judging by the timestamp on the PM.

Edited April 25, 2010 by occidentalis

[Light&Love]

The items are a bit pricey in my opinion. I was in Peru recently and you can pick up all of this stuff on the street for for 1/3 of the price that your charging. Is this stuff actually made by legitimate Shipibo Shamans, or is it made by local street vendors who follow you around everywhere you go and try and push this stuff down your throat? Im thinking the latter.

Peace

[occidentalis]

Thanks for the feedback.

Yep, that's about how much we paid for this stuff. We have put a significant markup on our products because we actually went to a remote corner of Peru, bought it all, and carried it back to Australia. We travelled with an extra 12 kg between the two of us on top of our backpacks for 2 months, across 4 countries. It was a a lot of work (and financial cost) and now I want to see it pay off. It's called capitalism, and while it has it's problems, it's what we're doing.

One of the cool things about capitalism is that anyone can do it. If anyone here would like to go to Peru, buy a whole lot of Shipibo artwork, bring it back, and sell it for less than this then I really encourage them to do so. However I suspect that once they go to all that trouble they will want to see a good return from it.

If you go to Oxfam, or any other shop selling imported textile artwork of a quality similar to this you will find similar or higher prices. So far we have had a pretty good response with some other items that we have already sold. Those buyers were our market research and we asked them to help us set the prices based on what they were happy to pay. If it turns out that they overestimated (ie, no one else wants to buy them at these prices), we will reassess and lower the prices.

As I understand this artwork is never made by "Shipibo Shamans", legitimate or otherwise. It is made by Shipibo women. We purchased it from a collective of artists who sell their work in a market in Yarinacocha. We didn't buy it from any of the street vendors, but I don't see any reason to believe that those women are any less legitimate sources of the artwork. They may be annoying but they are just trying to make a living like everyone else in Peru.

The bottom line is, if you think it's too expensive, or you don't like it, don't buy it, and keep your bad vibes to yourself - maybe take another look at your username and reconsider.

[amanito]

As a seller you need to ask twice the price you pay if you want a job for a living. (assuming the seller of course pays taxes, permissions, ...)

[dworx]

Hey its just her opinion champ, don't get cut up by it if you believe what you have written, then it will surely sell regardless of who makes what comment, right?

Take a deep breath...........

Edited April 25, 2010 by dworx

[Quill]

beautiful stuff occi

[Light&Love]

Thanks for the feedback.

Yep, that's about how much we paid for this stuff. We have put a significant markup on our products because we actually went to a remote corner of Peru, bought it all, and carried it back to Australia. We travelled with an extra 12 kg between the two of us on top of our backpacks for 2 months, across 4 countries. It was a a lot of work (and financial cost) and now I want to see it pay off. It's called capitalism, and while it has it's problems, it's what we're doing.

One of the cool things about capitalism is that anyone can do it. If anyone here would like to go to Peru, buy a whole lot of Shipibo artwork, bring it back, and sell it for less than this then I really encourage them to do so. However I suspect that once they go to all that trouble they will want to see a good return from it.

If you go to Oxfam, or any other shop selling imported textile artwork of a quality similar to this you will find similar or higher prices. So far we have had a pretty good response with some other items that we have already sold. Those buyers were our market research and we asked them to help us set the prices based on what they were happy to pay. If it turns out that they overestimated (ie, no one else wants to buy them at these prices), we will reassess and lower the prices.

As I understand this artwork is never made by "Shipibo Shamans", legitimate or otherwise. It is made by Shipibo women. We purchased it from a collective of artists who sell their work in a market in Yarinacocha. We didn't buy it from any of the street vendors, but I don't see any reason to believe that those women are any less legitimate sources of the artwork. They may be annoying but they are just trying to make a living like everyone else in Peru.

The bottom line is, if you think it's too expensive, or you don't like it, don't buy it, and keep your bad vibes to yourself - maybe take another look at your username and reconsider.

 

First of all im not interested in buying anything you have to sell, i just feel bad for the people that are paying these prices, in my opinion you should be selling these at a much cheaper price to your friends at the ethno community, not trying to make a quick buck by whoring out ayahuasca related products, this whole ayahuasca psychedelics business will soon be run by the almighty dollar, and once it gets its stranglehold on this beautiful plant and community, things WILL change in the amazon, her spirit WILL die.

Hehe your quite incorrect about the Shipibo Shamans not making their own, but i wont embarrass you with the truth. If by "Shipibo women" you mean the vendors that dress as Shipibo but have no real connection to it or anything Ayahuasca related, then so be it.

Why do you compare what your doing to Oxfam, are you going to give a percentage of your profits to the poor and needy? If thats the case then im sorry, but i get the feeling that your just peddling this merchandise to get another plane ticket back to Peru. I think you should stick to selling shoes and life insurance, like a good westener.

Peace

[MORG]

Ooooh. Item 20 is my favourite. Gives me the pre-launch butterflies.

Welcome back Occidentalis.

[occidentalis]

First of all im not interested in buying anything you have to sell, i just feel bad for the people that are paying these prices, in my opinion you should be selling these at a much cheaper price to your friends at the ethno community, not trying to make a quick buck by whoring out ayahuasca related products, this whole ayahuasca psychedelics business will soon be run by the almighty dollar, and once it gets its stranglehold on this beautiful plant and community, things WILL change in the amazon, her spirit WILL die.

You're welcome to your opinion, and if what I am doing is contributing to this then I really am concerned. However I don't see that buying a commercial product in one country and selling it for more in a country where it is less available is any kind of crime. The Shipibo set the prices there (not much room for bargaining) so they obviously felt they were getting a good enough deal, and once again - if people here don't like these prices they won't pay them. I understand your concern regarding the commercialisation of aya because that was something that really bothered me in Peru. However I think you have far too little faith in the power of the plant if you think her spirit will die that easily.

Hehe your quite incorrect about the Shipibo Shamans not making their own, but i wont embarrass you with the truth. If by "Shipibo women" you mean the vendors that dress as Shipibo but have no real connection to it or anything Ayahuasca related, then so be it.

You seem very sure about this and I would like to see some evidence. So far what I saw in Peru and all the reading I have done before and since (including discussing it with the women I purchased this stuff from) confirms that this artwork is traditionally done by the women of the community, not 'Shamans'. Please show me an article or some other research that indicates otherwise as if I am wrong then I'm genuinely interested.

The Shipibo have a very distinctive facial structure and I think from that it's pretty obvious that many of the vendors I saw there were Shipibo, or at least a related ethnic group. Many of the women in the collective I purchased from also did NOT speak Spanish and had to have a younger girl translate for them. Pretty good indication that they were genuine certified Shipibos, if that is such a big concern to you.

Why do you compare what your doing to Oxfam, are you going to give a percentage of your profits to the poor and needy? If thats the case then im sorry, but i get the feeling that your just peddling this merchandise to get another plane ticket back to Peru. I think you should stick to selling shoes and life insurance, like a good westener.

 

Dude, sorry to burst your bubble about Oxfam... but most of the stuff they sell is just the average touristy crap you can buy in street markets in any developing country... They do so to fund their development projects which is a worthy goal but the stores themselves are not charity operations. I've seen things for sale in Oxfam for twice the markup that we are putting on these items.

Since you know nothing about me or what other projects I am involved in, or where this money might go, I think you should stop making baseless allegations of ... I'm not even quite sure what your point actually is.

[occidentalis]

Ooooh. Item 20 is my favourite. Gives me the pre-launch butterflies.

Welcome back Occidentalis.

 

Thanks Morg

[dworx]

I think you said " It's called capitalism, and while it has it's problems, it's what we're doing." So what you are doing is capitalising on this "other cultures work" or "your purchases made elsewhere" for profit, obviously.

[occidentalis]

I am capitalising on relative differences in the availability of these products between two different countries, and also differences in the value of the currencies of those countries. Perhaps 'trade' would be a more appropriate term.

Yes, for profit, obviously.

Edited April 26, 2010 by occidentalis

[Darklight]

Hey beautiful welcome home

Are you going to tell us stories of your travels? Would be especially interested to hear about the origins of designs and stitching, I hung round with some radical leftie fabric workers in the 80's and we got to talk to all manner of people worldwide about the origins of their designs etc- it was pretty damn interesting and in some cases like Argentina fairly heavily political

Ah, and also very very interested to hear of your plant travels

For those of you who don't know this bloke or his partner they're two of the most solid, lovely and friendly people I know, and they've done a fair bit for this community. If they want to make a few bucks here and there to keep the work coming on I reckon it's a damn fine thing. Since I can't purchase stuff from the local markets direct from the artisans I have nil objection to handing cash over to them for the same items

Ah yeah, and I like #6, I'll PM you

[occidentalis]

Hey beautiful welcome home

Are you going to tell us stories of your travels? Would be especially interested to hear about the origins of designs and stitching, I hung round with some radical leftie fabric workers in the 80's and we got to talk to all manner of people worldwide about the origins of their designs etc- it was pretty damn interesting and in some cases like Argentina fairly heavily political

Ah, and also very very interested to hear of your plant travels

 

well thanks

I was hoping to present a photo slideshow, maps, and general travel tips at EGA this year - but my request for that got turned down .

So I will probably write up some blog posts and 'trip reports' at some stage.

I don't know much about the meanings of these designs, but I would like to know more. When we asked the vendors, they would only tell us the designs represented the 'heart of ayahuasca'. I suspect that due to cultural change since contact the Shipibo women don't really use aya anymore. When we asked them they seemed quite scared of it. Peru has a 'machismo' culture and the men like to show off about how tough they are and I think talk up the dangers and fears of ayahuasca. That combined with effective transmission of memetic viruses by christian missionaries, aya does not seem to have much connection with the daily practice of the people. Maybe this is the source of L&L's question about Legitimate Shipibo Shamans . Some of the links I posted at the top of this thread do have some info on the traditional meanings of the designs.

I didn't spend any time at all in Shipibo villages, so I'm not sure how important aya use is in daily life. When I hung out in a village of Secoya people in Ecuador, only the older members of the family (ie grandparents), and then only in the most traditional families, still used aya and their other traditional medicines. Perhaps Light&Love will be able to enlighten us about how things are with the Shipibo ;).

Edited April 26, 2010 by occidentalis

[occidentalis]

oh yeah, I went to the national library of Peru and found some weird papers from the Journal of the Peruvian Cactus and Succulent Society (!) on mescaline content in cacti from different locations in the Andes... terrible studies, but interesting anyway.

Will give them a scan and put them up when I can.

[GingaNinja]

second thoughts suggest my comment was not appropriate for this thread.

carry on

Edited April 26, 2010 by GingaNinja

[GingaNinja]

overuse of my dos soles.

Edited April 26, 2010 by GingaNinja

[toby]

Very happy with purchase! was expecting quarter-half the size! thanks

[occidentalis]

Very happy with purchase! was expecting quarter-half the size! thanks

 

Awesome, glad that it has gone to a good home. I did say that the white ones were big!

[incognito]

where did the pics go? do u have any other pieces for sale? im VERY interested.

[FancyPants]

The colours are a lot more vibrant than I expected too! Very beautiful!

[occidentalis]

where did the pics go? do u have any other pieces for sale? im VERY interested.

Dunno, pics are working fine for me. Check out the Aus Ethno post if you still can't see them here. Dunno, they both link to photobucket.

This is all we have, but as I said, if there's a particular piece that you really like that has sold, let us know and we'll see if we can order a similar one.

The colours are a lot more vibrant than I expected too! Very beautiful!

 

Yep, the photos really don't capture them that well. Glad that you are enjoying your piece .