FOIM TEXTILE COLLECTION
Our searchable database is ready for you to explore.
Wonder where your treasured huipil comes from?
Long-time followers might use our stunning Mapito poster, or the reference Carmen Pettersen book, but now you can also use our new study tool – Textiles and Beyond. To access this database, click here and browse away.
This is an easily-accessible searchable database which covers many of our current holdings. Collection photos carry various identifiers and the village location is shown on a map.
The link is also available on our Instagram. Our cataloguing work is ongoing so do check back from time to time!
LABELING YOUR TEXTILES?
Here’s a simple sample template to consider.
For fabric sewn-in labels (like the one below), see our SPRING 2026 newsletter on this website for more information. Click Collection Label Template for a downloadable version of the label.
Noteworthy textiles—with commentary by Ray Senuk.
COFRADIA HUIPIL (ceremonial woman’s blouse)
- Tecpan, Department of Chimaltenango
- Language Group: Kaqchikel
- 1940s/1950s
- Sanchez Collection/Friends of the Ixchel Museum
The warp stripe patterning is very typical of this ceremonial huipil from Tecpan. The natural brown (cuyascate) and red with accents of indigo and yellow make for a very striking piece. The red weft throughout is partly visible and gives the natural brown threads a reddish glow. The supplementary weft brocade is single faced and done completely in silk. Saying that brocade is single faced indicates that the design is only visible on the front of the textile and that none of the weft floats are carried on the back. Describing brocade as two-faced indicates that the design is not only visible on the front but that the weft floats are also visible on the back of the textile. Cofradia huipils from Tecpan were woven in a wide format to ensure that only the hands were exposed.
