San Antonio Aguas Calientes ceremonial tzute (utility cloth).

This pre-1980 tzute (dated 1979) was hand woven on a back strap loom in two warp striped cotton base panels that are joined by a hand embroidered decorative seam. These panels are decorated with double supplementary weft brocade, where the design appears equally on both sides, locally called “marcador”. San Antonio Aguas Calientes is the only locality to employ this difficult technique and, as a result, items from this village are often considered the finest weavings in Guatemala. We speculate that this tzute was used for a wedding. Written on it is “Recuerdo Nicolasa”. This outstanding example was acquired from Sra. Carmen Tepeú at the La Fuente textile market in Antigua. W 76 x L 99 cm. (16-193) $ 360. OBO