Malacates -- Maya Spindles

Antique spindles for spinning natural local cotton
These are genuine antique Maya Indian spinning tools -- malacates or spindles for spinning cotton thread. They are identical to those collected in 1902 and pictured in the book Maya Textiles of Guatemala by Margot Blum Schevill. These are from Solola, and I bought them from some weavers from that village. They vary in length from 12.5 to 15.5 inches, and all have some hand-spun thread of natural brown thread (called cuyuscate in Spanish and ixcacoj or ixcay in Maya. The price is for a single spindle.