Santo Tomás Chichicastenango men's ceremonial (cofradía) chaqueta (jacket).

This fine circa-1980 men's cofradía jacket is tailored from material that was hand woven on a back strap loom using hand spun, un-dyed black wool. Men do the tailoring and embroidery decoration of these jackets. The flowers and the other hand embroidery is in silk. The hand knotted fringes are cotton in magenta and maroon. According to Carmen Petersen (Maya of Guatemala, p. 93), the blue zigzag around the cuff and shoulders indicate that the wearer was an astrologist or day-keeper of the ceremonial Maya calendar. Chichicastenango men's cofradía jackets in such excellent condition are rare. This exceptional piece was acquired from an important private collection in Antigua Guatemala. W 54 cm across the shoulders x 55 cm long (plus roughly 15 cm of fringe) x 44 cm sleeves. (19-14) $ 500. OBO