Threads of Time: Tradition and Change in Indigenous American Textiles
Ceremonial Huipíl (Woman’s Blouse)
Title
Ceremonial Huipíl (Woman’s Blouse)
Description
This blouse dates from around 1945 and maintains the purple and pink palette and the radiating neck embroidery seen in earlier examples. However, it also shows the beginning of the later Chichicastenango design trajectory in the adoption of large flowers in the brocaded sections.
Semi-realistic and yet abstract, these floral motifs may reflect that the country of Guatemala has been called “The Land of a Thousand Flowers” for its verdant, colorful plant life. Europeans had brought floral-patterned cloth to Guatemala centuries before; however, the Maya did not adopt this subject matter into their garments until they chose to, signaling their artistic independence.
Semi-realistic and yet abstract, these floral motifs may reflect that the country of Guatemala has been called “The Land of a Thousand Flowers” for its verdant, colorful plant life. Europeans had brought floral-patterned cloth to Guatemala centuries before; however, the Maya did not adopt this subject matter into their garments until they chose to, signaling their artistic independence.
Geographic Area
Central America, Guatemala, Chichicastenango
Culture
K’iche’ Maya
Date
Ca. 1945
Materials
Cotton, acrylic fiber
Credit Line
Bright Collection of Guatemalan Textiles
Accession Number
2009.42.117
Photo Credit
Photos by Michael McKelvey, 2017