Saltillo-style sarape (sarape antiguo estilo "Saltillo")
Northern or Central Mexico; ca. 1830-80
Collected by Phoebe A. Hearst, before 1919
3-2383
Saltillo sarapes are perhaps the finest and most beautiful Latin American textiles of their period. Although the origins and precise history of the Saltillo sarape are obscure, they are probably a blending of indigenous and Hispanic elements. They seem to have developed during the 19th century, with their greatest popularity between about 1830 and 1880. Sarapes probably started from garments of Indian men. The Saltillo variety was popularized by vaqueros (cowboys) and other mestizo people of the countryside, before being taken up by wealthy landowners in northern and central Mexico. Just as their production was tapering off, in the late 19th century, the sarape had become a Mexican national symbol, spreading to all classes. Despite its name, the so-called Saltillo sarape was woven not just in the town of Saltillo, Coahuila, but more generally in northern and central Mexico. Other kinds of sarapes were woven in western and southern states, where their production continues to this day.
Usually woven on a treadle-loom, the classic Saltillo sarape was typically made of two matching panels sewn together, often with a central slit left for a head opening. It might take ten or twelve months to make a finely-woven sarape, given the necessity for continually changing the weft (horizontal) yarn in order to create the small colored sections. Classic designs were generally composed of three elements: a central panel (a diamond or scalloped circle), on a background field of small repeated motifs, and a border. After French rule in the early 1860s, the long macramé fringe became popular.
Out of approximately 300 classic Saltillo sarapes known to exist, the Hearst Museum has a total of 31 (in addition to other kinds of sarapes), certainly one of the largest, oldest, and most comprehensive in any museum. While Phoebe Hearst was the principal donor, important sarapes were collected by Zelia Nuttall and art curator Frederic H. Douglas.
(Photograph 1 of 23)
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