Tapestry Weave Rag Jerga


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Hispanic Rag Jerga
Agueda Martínez
1994
Chimayó, New Mexico
Catalog Information

Production

Since the Spanish colonial period, Hispanic weavers in New Mexico have woven jergas on treadle looms. They have made these textiles for their own use and for export to other areas.

The use of strips of cloth seen in this rag jerga is a practice found in many parts of the world and is documented in the North American Southwest from before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. Archaeologists have discovered textiles woven in Arizona around the 14th century that were made from strips of cotton blankets.

Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies