huipil
- Museum number
- Am1980,27.459
- Description
-
Huipil; woven of cotton; huipil of off-white cotton, brocaded across shoulder with geometric designs of red, orange and black
- Dimensions
-
Length: 72 centimetres
-
Width: 87 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- Hecht 2001
Commentary refers to Am1980,27.451-459
This group of textiles represent huipils in the making. There are two matched pieces (451a and b) that have not yet been sewn together, another has two panels sewn together but with no gap left for the head to go through (457), and yet another has two panels temporally held together in just two places.
When made up the two-panel huipils are of considerable length, the brocaded area covering the ground weave from the shoulder to the waist, below which is plain white cotton (the part worn tucked into the skirt).
The two-faced brocading is in the same style (and has the same characteristics) as the old textile (Am1980,26.1-2), but the colouring differs. In some the brocading is executed on a white ground, but in two of them (457 and 458) the ground weave on which the brocading is worked (not the plain area of the lower half) is brown - possibly the natural brown cotton. This alters the appearance considerably.
The huipil in the Eisen collection illustrated in colour (Schevill, 1993, 179) is similar to the museum example (451a and b), but the latter has a greater variety of geometric patterns, and includes the doll-like figures of the old textile.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1980
- Department
- Africa, Oceania and the Americas
- Registration number
- Am1980,27.459