Double ikat Corte #5

Fabric very finely woven double ikat
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 a single-panel tube of finely woven material featuring ikat designs in both directions. The sides of the cloth are very nicely selvage-finished, and the ends have been stitched together to form the tube. Overall size is 37 inches wide and 166 inches long. The weave is weft-faced plain weave with weft-ikat and larger warp-ikat figures. There have also been woven-in some metallic threads which give the entire fabric a glittery effect. In the photos below, the second is a closeup of the first.

Condition: excellent, lightly used but presenting no noticeable flaws.