Chuarrancho Ceremonial Huipil #5

Large ceremonial huipil ca. 1980 with all-over brocading

This post-1980 ceremonial-use huipil was hand-woven on a backstrap loom. The foundation fabric is all 100% cotton. The designs were added during the weaving process using the technique of supplemental-weft brocading, and they are also pure cotton. The brocading additionally employs the picked-pile technique, in which every individual stitch is "picked" or lifted about 1/8 inch above the foundation fabric. The resulting 3-dimensional effect can be seen in the second photo below. This technique is very time-consuming, so months of labor went into making this huipil. The huipil consists of two panels, seemed together with a simple stitch. All four of the lower edges are very nicely selvage-finished. The adornment around the head-hole is retained. This was probably a sobrehuipil or "over-huipil", designed to be worn over another garment. The sides appear to have never been stitched together under the arms to make it into a finished daily-use garment. In the photos below, there is one side, then a close-up. I have pictured both sides since they are not the same.

Measurements: 41.5 inches wide, 26.5 inches long, more or less, shoulder to hem. Thus the overall size of the full panel is 41.5 x 53 inches.

Condition: Excellent, lightly used, some very slight soil is possible. This is a very nice example.