Guatemala
Camel & Diamonds
Single diamond motifs in black, turquoise, orange and blue on warm camel.
Country world · 3 models
Guatemala
Diamonds and colour play on a calm ground
Guatemala’s textiles speak of regions, not of one national pattern. The three designs in this world set diamond motifs and sharp colour triangles on camel, pink and deep green.
Models from Guatemala
Technique
Woven or embroidered – two different paths
In the collection of the Museo Ixchel, pieces woven on the backstrap loom (telar de cintura) sit alongside hand-embroidered ones: a woven huipil from Nebaj in the Ixil region, an embroidered one from San Andrés Xecul in Totonicapán. Similar colours, entirely different techniques.
Background
The tradition
The Museo Ixchel del Traje Indígena in Guatemala City collects, preserves and documents the country’s Indigenous textile heritage. According to the museum, its collection holds more than 7,800 original textiles from 147 municipalities, 34 villages and 181 communities.
Those numbers alone show why “a Guatemalan pattern” falls short: clothing, technique and design change from place to place. A huipil from Nebaj is something different from one made in San Andrés Xecul.
Translation
What the designs make of it
The LÁAK designs do not refer to a specific place. They carry two design ideas onto the textile insert: single diamonds on a calm ground, and sharp colour triangles set side by side.
Models from Guatemala
Guatemala
Pink & Prism
Sharp triangles in blue, yellow, green and orange on strong pink – almost like a gradient.
