A Late Classic Saltillo Sarape

Old Saltillo Road

  This distinctive sarape is from the Late Classic Period, ca: 1840-1860.  It is categorized as a red vertical mosaic field Saltillo with a concentric diamond center overlaid on it,  a much more rare subtype compared to the more common aggragated diamond center, with this diamond aggragated into 4 or more diamonds.  Additionally, this sarape has a border composed of pre-Columbian design elements.  Although the dyes have not been tested, a trained examiner with experience with Saltillo sarapes instantly  recognizes that the colors in this blanket are vegetal and "bug juice" (cochineal or lac).  Given that no analine colors are in this blanket, one can confidently predict that this sarape predates the introduction of the new coal tar dyes into the New World, which happened in 1862.  It has not been restored, so several holes are evident and some very small places where the side borders need restoration.  It is clean, free of moth damage, and displays no fading of colors.

  This use of a concentric diamond center rather than an aggragated center diamond commonly predicts that the sarape is wider than the other type....so it is in this early version of the type.

$5,000.00

Artwork details