Older Mayan girl's shawl of cotton ikat and artificial silk from Totonicapan
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 20-30 years old, and is of an older style usually attributed to Totonicapan. The jaspe warp is cotton, and the colored threads are rayon "artificial silk". The pompoms appear to be of synthetic yarns.
Size: 20.5 inches wide and 52 inches long, including the fringes and pompoms. The small size means that it was probably used by a young girl.
Condition: very good, perhaps some light soil but no holes or stains, perhaps a few pulled threads. The pompoms which usually adorn the fringe ends are all present.