Pueblo Blue Bordered Manta, Circa 1880

Pueblo, likely Zuni

Circa 1880 | Wool | Item 2046

This manta, or dress/shawl is striking because of the quality and color of the indigo blue. The upper and lower bands has weft all in indigo, done in a diamond twill pattern. The warps show the background color of the diamond twill, which is deep natural brown sheep’s wool. The diamonds in the twill pattern are particularly fine. It’s particularly lovely how the indigo shifts in tone within the bands of the manta. The body of the manta is brown warp and weft woven in a diagonal twill pattern. One sees nice variations within the brown field, giving more visual appeal to the whole piece. All of these qualities combined make for a wonderful example of early, Pueblo weaving. The wool on this manta is not the early churro wool, but a later wool that is more woolen (fuzzy) and not as worsted as found with churro wool. This is part of what qualifies the date of circa 1880.

Note! These photos show the manta slightly overexposed, making the indigo blue lighter than it is in person. While this indigo is much stronger than most mantas I have seen, it is not as vivid as seen in these photos.