Posted 9 years ago
Katie24sti…
(1 item)
Does anyone know anything about this blanket? I went on vacation to Payson, Arizona and instead of buying souvenirs at gift shops I shopped at antique stores and I purchased this at one of them. Unfortunately no one knew anything about it or what the picture could represent. Any info would be just dandy and appreciated!
It's Mexican, but a variation of a Texcoco rug, not Zapotec, not Native American Indian. Texcoco was a center of the Aztec Empire, just outside Mexico City.
Today, aside from its historical sites, it's probably best known for the iconic Texcoco rug design, which usually blue/black/white stripes on the ends, with a central diamond or other figure on a solid field which is surrounded by a white border that contains black patterns that look like a "5" or a backward "S." It's the image in the bowl this Aztec figure is holding.
In this case the Aztec in the feathered headdress replaces the standard diamond shape, and the colors are "updated," but the basic pattern is still there. It was designed for the tourist trade.
It's a rug, and probably dates c. 1970s to present.
Usually it's pretty easy to tell the difference...if it's fairly large, soft, and goes on a bed, it's a blanket. If it's smaller, and goes on the floor, it's a rug.
The confusion sometimes comes in the case of a saddle blanket, which is really neither a rug, nor a blanket (but probably could be used for a rug). It's designed to fit a horse, so there is a standard size range (depending on the size of the horse and the saddle), usually 30-34" square, in the case of a single saddle blanket, or 32-34" by 55-60" for a double, made to be used folded in half. They are basically a pad for under the saddle, so have more simple designs.
Wow, thank you everyone for your insight and knowledge on this rug. I currently have it hanging on a door ultimately as a decoration. Aztec or Mayan was my first guess when I saw it but after getting it home the realization of what the bowl could possibly represent made me second guess its place within my home. I like the uniqueness of the design being I've never seen one or have yet to, however if the reason for this is because the bowl represents human sacrifice I will be taking it down and sending it on its way. I hope I'm wrong though because I really like the folk art appeal it gives within its space.