The Ixchel Museum of Indigenous Textiles and Clothing ( es, Museo Ixchel del Traje Indigena) is a museum in
Guatemala City
Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...
,
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
. The museum explores the Guatemalan traditions of dress throughout the country and also has notable collections of ceramics, textiles, jewelry and books. The museum is housed on the campus of
Francisco Marroquin University.
History and exhibits
The museum's collections include hand-woven fabrics, ceremonial costumes, and clothing including
huipil
''Huipil'' (Nahuatl: '' huīpīlli'' ; Ch'orti': ''b’ujk''; Chuj: ''nip'') is the most common traditional garment worn by indigenous women from central Mexico to Central America.
It is a loose-fitting tunic, generally made from two or three re ...
.
While pre-Columbian textiles were not preserved, pottery, Mayan ruins and other artifacts are displayed. Textiles, materials, dyes and techniques from different eras, including the Spanish colonial era and present day, are represented.
The museum building, located on the campus of Francisco Marroquin University, is designed to display textiles and its exterior looks like a woven textile pattern. Its exhibitions include works by painter
Andrés Curruchich and artist
Monica Torrebiarte, among others. The museum is significant in research and display of Guatemalan culture, particularly that of Guatemala's indigenous people.
is one of the arts on display in the museum.
In 2020, Fulbright scholar Erin Semine Kökdil collaborated with the Ixchel Museum of Indigenous Textiles and Clothing while filming a documentary about the traditional art of Mayan backstrap weaving.
References
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Museums in Guatemala
Guatemala City
Textile museums
Museums established in 1993
1993 establishments in Guatemala
Indigenous museums of the Americas
Indigenous textile art of the Americas