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Chichicastenango Fancy Corte #4A

Manufacturer: N/A

SKU: G-T-C-CC4A

Price: $80.00
This item is in stock

Most of the skirts or cortes used by the Maya women of Guatemala are made on treadle looms in the large textile-producing villages of the western highlands of southern Guatemala. Certain designs are village-specific, but it is now more common for the woman to choose a skirt fabric which suits her personal aesthetic. Some skirts are also made in the particular village for use in that village. As used, the two ends of long panels 35-50 inches wide are seamed together to form a tube. The woman steps inside this tube and folds the material in a complicated manner to form the skirt. This results in a fairly thick and heavy garment.

This skirt is of the second type -- made in Chichicastenango for use in that town. It is of the style most popular in the late 1980s and 1990s. The fabric is cotton with a large proportion of indigo-dyed ikat or jaspe. Overall size is 25.5 inches wide and 54 inches long as viewed. It consists of two panels each 13 inches wide and 108 inches long, which were then stitched together along the side to form the 25.5 x 108 skirt. The tube was then formed by sewing the ends together, resulting in a fabric of double thickness which is about 25.5 x 54 inches square. The important characteristic of this particular skirt is the use of finely woven indigo jaspe bands. The first photo below shows the randa, and the second is a close-up of some of the indigo jaspe stripes.

Condition: excellent, lightly used but presenting no noticeable flaws, except for some rubbing to the randa at the high points. This is a very nice example.

Measurements: 25.5 inches wide and 54 inches long as viewed.

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