Art Institute of Chicago

Hanging

Mexico and/or United States

Date

1876/1900

Medium

Pieced, painted and embroidered quilt; silk and cotton velvet weaves; silk embroidery threads; metal, silk and cotton cord

Culture

United States

Department

Textiles

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

The images on this hanging signal that it may be a souvenir of Mexico. The octagonal piece of fabric in the center features the national coat of arms: an eagle eating a serpent grasped in its talons while standing on a prickly pear cactus. Irregularly shaped pieces of fabric surround this central image and contain painted scenes that depict bullfighting, pre-Columbian sculpture, flowers, butterflies, views of the landscape, and scenes of everyday life. The collection and combination of these scenes suggest that the hanging could be an expression of affection for a place well known and loved or a place imagined through armchair travel.

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