Posted 9 years ago
rmon128
(3 items)
I purchased this today at an estate sale for $5. I believe it is a Mexican Saltillo Serape. However, I'm interested to know how I can figure out the age. I feel like it dates to the 1920s or possibly earlier. Anyone have any hints? Thanks in advance.
welcome rmon128! i think it's later - 40s or 50s, but it's hard to tell for sure without the fringe. is it made of 100% wool, or can you tell if there's a silk weft? i collect these and have quite a few now.
i like the colors - kind of subtle on this one.
Thank you. I will try to add another picture of the fringe. Some of it is remaining on the blanket. Where would I be able to see the weft? Throughout the weave? I'm not very familiar with textiles.
I like the colors as well. They are quite different than the others I saw when I was researching serapes.
The fringe is connected at the tips. I don't know if this helps.
the fringe is very important to collectors. over half the value is lost if the fringe isn't close to perfect. if you want to learn alot about them, just study the photos of these ones: https://www.pinterest.com/ho2cultcha/saltillo-serape-mexican-blankets/
The warp is the underlying white (in this case) yarn, the ends of which become the fringe. Weft is the yarn that covers the warp, and is the visible, colored yarn that makes up the pattern.
I would agree that this is probably no earlier than the 1940s/1950s.
Thank you both for all of the help and info you gave me! I hate having a piece that I don't know anything about and you helped clear up some of the history for me.
thank you for the correction Canyon Road! i meant the warp then. silk was often used in the 20s - 40s, sometimes just in places like the eye. the center medallion is called the 'ojo de dios' or 'eye of god'.
i think that there's one here somewhat similar to yours dated '1940s' for what it's worth: http://www.pocascosasarts.com/gal_mexsarapestextiles.html
i like the subtle colors in yours very much.