|Type:||Clothing - Garment|
|Place Made:||North America: Central America, Guatemala, Sololá, Nahuala|
|Period:||Mid 20th century|
|Date:||1930 - 1970|
|Dimensions:||L101 cm x W 109 cm|
|Techniques:||Woven; supplementary weft|
|Credit:||Gift of Lloy Coutts|
The woman’s huipil has a long and ancient tradition in Guatemala and is still worn in parts of the country today. Indigenous garments such as the huipil have roots in pre-Spanish Maya costume, and are often depicted on ceramics and sculpture. A huipil consists of one, two, or three lengths of cotton woven on a back-strap loom and sewn together with an opening for the head. Supplementary weft threads in cotton, silk, rayon and more recently acrylic, are used to float a raised pattern during weaving. Although these rich and varied designs have evolved over time, since the Spanish Conquest, huipil styles have been part of a woman’s distinctive costume (traje) and associated with her community.