Huipil Panel
1920s (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This panel comes from a huipil, a blouse-like garment that forms part of the traditional dress worn by Guatemalan women. Huipils are hand-woven by the women themselves, usually on a portable 'back-strap' or 'belt' loom, which is secured around the waist of the weaver, enabling her to continue weaving when opportunity and time permit.
Huipils are very simply constructed; they consist of a woven cotton or wool rectangle with an opening left at the top for the head, much like a tunic. The weave is either plain or brocaded, and can then be decorated further with embroidery or applique. Patterns are often particular to the weaver's village or region.
Huipils are very simply constructed; they consist of a woven cotton or wool rectangle with an opening left at the top for the head, much like a tunic. The weave is either plain or brocaded, and can then be decorated further with embroidery or applique. Patterns are often particular to the weaver's village or region.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Brocaded cotton |
| Brief description | Huipil panel, brocaded cotton, Guatemala, 1920s. |
| Physical description | Huipil panel of brocaded cotton. There is a selvage on all four sides; the fibres are cotton and the warp is undyed. There is a narrow band of red at the ends and three red stripes at he sides. There are four rows of isolated brocaded motifs (mainly squares and circles) followed by a broad band of diagonal lines, zigzags and diagonal lines. The central or shoulder part is decorated with isolated motifs (triangles, circles, squares, etc.) and then the whole pattern repeats once. Colours: Red, yellow, green, pale purple, pale blue. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Credit line | Given by Tim Pryor in memory of Philip Thornton |
| Object history | Registered File number 1993/551. |
| Historical context | This panel would have been folded across its width to form half of a child's huipil. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This panel comes from a huipil, a blouse-like garment that forms part of the traditional dress worn by Guatemalan women. Huipils are hand-woven by the women themselves, usually on a portable 'back-strap' or 'belt' loom, which is secured around the waist of the weaver, enabling her to continue weaving when opportunity and time permit. Huipils are very simply constructed; they consist of a woven cotton or wool rectangle with an opening left at the top for the head, much like a tunic. The weave is either plain or brocaded, and can then be decorated further with embroidery or applique. Patterns are often particular to the weaver's village or region. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.215-1993 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | January 30, 2007 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
