Half of a chest robe

1935

Material: hand-spun white cotton, different colors of embroidery woolTechnique: plain woven on a hip loom, embroidery stitchesThe patch is woven with two weft threads. It has a spiral edge. Inside are embroidered flowers. The shoulder pass has a red edge trimmed with a blue border. Around the neckline there is a border with abstract motives. It was purchased from the owner.The "quechquemitl" is a garment that has been worn for a very long time in the central and northern part of Mexico. In the pre-Columbian period, the "quechquemitl" was reserved for women of the upper classes. Nowadays this is no longer the case and it is worn by women of all classes in the Huichol, Huastec, Mazahua, Tepehua, Totonac, Otomí and Nahua. Although several models of pre-Columbian quechquemitls have disappeared, three basic models have survived today. One of the basic models, as worn by the Totonaca, consists of two rectangular hand-woven textiles sewn together, with the points falling on the front and back. Before the Spanish conquest, missionaries were dismayed to find that nothing was worn under this garment, and they introduced the blouse to the indigenous communities. Nowadays, women prefer to wear the blouse in hot weather, while in cold weather and on special occasions, the "quechquemitl" is worn over the blouse. As blouses became more richly decorated, in many villages the size of the quechquemitl decreased so that the beautiful blouse could be admired underneath.