Detail of one of two indigenous Bolivian dance decorations. Both of these pieces were worn over the shoulder in various ceremonial dances performed by the Aymara Indians of the Bolivian Altiplano. Constructed from old, salvaged, crate-wood (a precious commodity in a region that sits above tree line at 12,500 ft. above sea level on the Bolivian Altiplano) these were painted with deeply saturated hues meant to imitate the brilliant colors of feathers traded up from the Amazonian Basin. These date to the late 19th or the first quarter of the 20th century. More commonly seen are dance decorations made from bamboo tubes covered with the feathers of amazonian parrots and macaws. This feather type originate in the Lake Titicaca region and have Spanish colonial-like decorations. (see below) i have seen only a few of the painted wooden pieces for some reason. They probably originate in more rural areas of the Altiplano and were made for personal use and were not sold or traded as commodities. The imagery in these two is pure "folk art-primitive" - much less fussy than their feather covered counterparts. These are authentic, made for personal use, available individually and not expensive