Minneapolis Institute of Art

Woman's ceremonial tzute

Kaqchikel Maya artist

Date

c. 1980s

Medium

Cotton, supplementary weft patterning, embroidery

Culture

Kaqchikel Maya

Department

Global Contemporary Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

The highly skilled weavers of San Antonio Aguas Calientes, Guatemala, produce some of the finest, most complex, and most famous textiles in the region. They are known for their double-faced weaving technique, which produces identical patterns on both sides of the fabric. You can see this double-sided effect on the baby’s cap (6) and the woman’s ceremonial tzute, or woven cloth (3). In this selection of weavings, you can find patterns that feature a combination of geometric, floral, and animal imagery. You can also see the influence of needlepoint and counted cross-stitch patterns that were brought to Guatemala from Spain in objects 1 and 2. Kaqchikel Maya, Americas

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