Rebozo Mayan Shawl #2

Post-1980 Mayan shawl of ikat and cotton from Xela
Most rebozos used by Maya women in Guatemala are woven in the two textile-producing towns of Totonicapan and Quetzaltenango (known locally by its old Maya name of Xela). All are produced on the Spanish-style treadle loom, which involves a considerable amount of dying and handling by hand. It is not as time-consuming work as back-strap weaving, but it can still take weeks of total effort to produce a shawl. Much production is by cottage industry, with small looms in individual homes, where the weaving is a family endeavor. The ikat or jaspe threads are all dyed individually, in the home, and this is one of the more tedious of the jobs. This ikat almost entirely uses cotton threads.

This particular shawl is 10-20 years old, and is of an older style usually attributed to Xela. The jaspe warp is cotton, as are the other colored threads.

Size: 25 inches wide and 77 inches long, including the fringes and pom-poms.

Condition: very good, perhaps some light soil but no holes or stains. One end has 5 pompoms and the other end is missing all but one.