{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O46003"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O46003/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2018KT9067/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2018KT9067/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2018KT9067","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2018KT9059","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2018KT9082","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2018KT9083","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2018KT9072","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2018KT5706","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006AT3652","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O46003/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O46003","accessionNumber":"T.38-1931","objectType":"Huipil","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"This is a huipil (blouse) made from three loom widths. The two seams in the centre of the huipil were made by placing the panels edge-to-edge and whipping them together with white cotton.  The sides are seamed only along the lower 12 inches of each side, leaving large openings for the arms.  A round neck has been cut through the woven pattern and the edges have been rolled inward and stitched with red cotton.\r\nThe warp is white cotton which has been woven in alternating bands of gauze and plain weave, combining to create a wavy edge to each panel.  The panels are decorated with narrow bands of woven pattern in blue and red cotton.  There is a characteristic band of loose weft about 2.5 inches above the front hem indicating that the panels were woven on a backstrap loom.  As there was insufficient space for the weaver to twist the warp threads to produce a gauze weave, she had to complete this part of her work in plain weave.\nThis is possibly one of the olderst huipiles in a museum collection globally.","physicalDescription":"Huipil of plain weave cotton woven with gauze bands, and brocaded with cotton.\n\n1931 Description: Tunic of white cotton gauze, loom embroidered in coloured cotton. The tunic is made of three long pieces of gauze attached together and double over.  It is adorned with narrow horizontal bands of embroidery in red and blue in chevron design.  The straight sides of the tunic are faggot-stitched together in red and blue cotton, leaving space for the arms.  The neck is hemmed in red.\r\n\r\n1975 Description: All cotton.  The warp is single white cotton, the weft used is double and is also white cotton.  The ground cloth consists of one pick of gauze weave and five picks of plain weave repeated throughout.  Although gauze weave is not mentioned by O'Neale as typical Rabinal, it certainly is typical of several villages just north of Rabinal - the Coban area - and it is not unreasonable to suppose that Rabinal weavers would know the technique. The bands of blue and  red cotton pattern are done in double-faced brocading (also called loom embroidery, inlay, onlay etc), the pattern thread is used several strands together, unplied, in each pick, making the pattern stand out from the ground cloth.  All three panels are woven on a backstrap loom and therefore have 4 selvedges each. At the bottom end of both side seams is a fairly rare manner of embroidering the seams in red cotton.  All embroidered seams are called randas.  See O'Neale fig. 81k for an illustration of this technique.\r\nNote: O'Neale fig. 47i shows a drawing of a woman's tzute from Rabinal and the pattern on a lower edge is similar to patterns on this huipil.\r\n\r\nTechnical Details (1995):\r\nWeft-faced bands of decoration alternating with bands of gauze and plain weave.\r\nWarp: 33 threads per inch; white cotton, Z-spun, unplied.\r\nWeft: 30 threads per inch in gauze bands and 38 per inch in plain weave.  This combination of weave produces a wavy edge to each panel.  (i) white cotton; Z-spun, unplied; single threads used in the gauze bands and usually paired threads in the plain weave bands to produce basket-weave. (ii) blue cotton; Z2S. (iii) red cotton; Z3S.\r\nThere is a band of loose plain weave (not gauze) about 2.5 inches above the lower edge of the front; it is about 1.5 inches deep.\r\nFront Edge: the first shed contains 4 weft threads.\r\nBack Edge: the last shed contains 4 weft threads.\r\nRanda: the two seams down the length of the huipil were formed with the fabric placed edge-to-edge and whipped together with white cotton.  The sides are seamed only along the lower 12 inches of each side; a block of red cotton between blocks of blue cotton has been used, forming a faggot-like stitch.\r\nA round neck has been cut through the woven pattern; the edges have been rolled inward and stitched with red cotton.\r\nBrocading: the panels are decorated with narrow bands of red and blue. (1) Left hand panel: zigzag band between blue lines; band of diamonds between blue lines; band of triangles. (2) Central panel: lowest band at the front appears to be stylised birds; band of triangles; band of diamonds between blue lines; quartered lozenges between blue lines; a broad panel, back and front, consisting of blue and red chevrons, above and below which is a narrower band of blue paired diamonds on a red ground.  (3) Right hand panel: band of diamonds between blue lines; band of triangles.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"Cotton yarn","id":"x30425"}],"techniques":[{"text":"Weaving","id":"AAT53642"},{"text":"Brocading","id":"AAT53648"},{"text":"Sewing","id":"AAT53658"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Cotton plain weave, woven with gauze bands, and brocaded with cotton","categories":[{"text":"Textiles","id":"THES48885"},{"text":"Clothing","id":"THES48975"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&F","id":"THES48601"},"images":["2018KT9067","2018KT9059","2018KT9082","2018KT9083","2018KT9072","2018KT5706","2006AT3652"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"010","id":"THES390074"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Huipil","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Mexico","id":"x30050"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1875-1890","earliest":"1875-01-01","latest":"1890-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Bequeathed by Alfred Percival Maudslay, Esq.","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Length","value":"110","unit":"cm","qualifier":"overall","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"92","unit":"cm","qualifier":"overall","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Length","value":"213","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"left hand panel","note":""},{"dimension":"Length","value":"214.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"central panel","note":""},{"dimension":"Length","value":"216","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"right hand panel","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"29","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"left hand panel","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"30.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"central panel","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"28","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"right hand panel","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Huipil of cotton woven with gauze bands and brocaded with cotton, Mexico, 1875-1890","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"1931: Guatemala.\r\n1975: Ceremonial huipil from Rabinal, Department of Baja Verapaz, Guatemala. This is not an example of an everyday blouse.  L M O'Neale 'Textiles of Highland Guatemala' (1945, p.295) says that is Rabinal 'so called ceremonial huipils are actually worn as scarves by women in the market; folded in half, the double rectangle is placed across the shoulders.' Fig. 102b illustrates one. O'Neale also says that the 'huipil material customarily used as shoulder wrap is white with crepe texture bands alternating with motifs in onlay.' The one illustrated does and perhaps it was therefore worn as a huipil and not only used as a wrap.  There is also a difference in the ground cloth as this one is a combination of guaze weave and plain weave.\r\nRosario de Polanco, Directora Technica of the Museo Ixchel de Traje Indigena, Guatemala City (personal communication 1989): 'because of the size, I think this is an over-blouse (sobre huipil).  The red colour is dyed with Palo de Bresil and the blue with indigo.'\r\nKrystyna Deuss, Director of the Guatemalan Indian Centre, London (personal communication 1995): 'ceremonial huipil from Coban.'\r\nChloe Sayer, freelance specialist on Mexcian textiles (personal communication 1996): 'The huipil is from the Trique village of San Andreas Chicahuaxtla, Oaxaca, Mexico.  Today the huipil that is worn in the village is the richly brocaded type shown on p.134 of my book 'Mexcian Textiles'.  The huipil in the V&A is very rare.  There is one in Chicago which was collected by Frederick Starr approximately one hundred years ago.'\r\nEd Carter, freelance researcher (personal communication 1996): 'This is the piece I rather think is Mexican in origin, probably Oaxaca. The weaving technques, however, are similar to those in the Q'eqchi communities of San Pedro Carcha and San Juan Chamelco [in Guatemala], and I agree that there is incidental evidence in O'Neale, a well as in the contemporary testimony of weavers with whom I have spoken in San Juan Chamelco and in Rabinal itself, for attributing this piece to Rabinal.'","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"Ceremonial Huipil made from three pieces.\r\nThe warp is white cotton which has been woven in alternating bands of gauze and plain weave, combining to create a wavy edge to each panel.  The panels are decorated with narrow bands of woven pattern in blue and red cotton.  There is a characteristic band of loose weft about 2.5 inches above the front hem indicating that the panels were woven on a backstrap loom.  As there was insufficient space for the weaver to twist the warp threads to produce a gauze weave, she had to complete this part of her work in plain weave.\r\nThe two seams in the centre of the huipil were made by placing the panels edge-to-edge and whipping them together with white cotton.  The sides are seamed only along the lower 12 inches of each side, leaving large openings for the arms.  A round neck has been cut through the woven pattern and the edges have been rolled inward and stitched with red cotton.","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null}}],"partNumbers":["T.38-1931"],"accessionNumberNum":"38","accessionNumberPrefix":"T","accessionYear":1931,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-06-08","recordCreationDate":"2000-07-31","availableToBook":true}}