Ikat Striped Shawl

Guatemala Ikats, locally known as jaspe, are a woven fabric dyed in a unique vertical pattern. Ikat ('ee-kat') dyeing is intensive resist technique in which the warp and/or weft yarns are bounded and dyed prior to weaving. 

In Guatemala, predominantly cotton yarns, are dyed with the ikat technique, using natural dyes from plants, flowers, vegetables, fruits, and bark. Handwoven on traditional foot and backstrap looms in the Maya highlands, this shawl features distinct blurred, painterly geometric and natural motifs.

 

  • Title: Ikat Striped Shawl

  • Date: 1987

  • Geography: Chichicastenango, Guatemala

  • Medium: Cotton

  • Dimensions: H. 57 in.  W. 21.5 in.

  • Provenance: Chichicastenango, Guatemala

  • Inventory Number: GU.02