coat
- Museum number
- Am1971,23.1
- Description
-
Man's coat; sewn of wool; coat made from rectangular piece of material with an opening for the head, sides are left open, and a fringed back hangs down lower than the front; two rectangles of material are stitched well into the main piece each side, at shoulder height, and are only stitched together as sleeves at the cuff end; rows of red machine stitching are used on the neck edging, in attaching the sleeves, and in decorative border used on the front hem.
- Production date
- 1971 (before)
- Dimensions
-
Length: 103 centimetres
-
Width: 131 centimetres (with sleeves extended)
- Curator's comments
- This capixay type garment is referred to as a codiarte in San Antonio Aguas Calientes (Osborne and Wood, 1966, 46). A note attached to the garment says ‘probably second last in existence’, and Osborne and Wood wrote: ‘We understand that this garment has practically disappeared from the daily scene in the intervening years...’.
The blue-black woollen material is woven on treadle looms in Momostenango, and sold in the required lengths.
The sleeves are only stitched together at the cuff end. (This leaves the man free to use his arms unencumbered with the sleeves when working.)
The sides of the coat are kept in place with a long fringed sash (such as Am1971,23.4).
Illustrations of the costume from San Antonia Aguas Calientes appear in most books on Guatemalan textiles: e.g. Anderson, 1978, 100-1,114; Deuss, 1981, 48; Altman and West, 1992, 172; Schevill, 1997, 149, 166.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1971
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Am1971,23.1