In this piece, Agueda Martínez has relied on the tapestry weave technique to incorporate complicated geometric designs. Most traditional jergas displayed checked or plaid designs produced by the simpler twill technique, like the 19th-century jerga on the right.

Zuni Jerga ca. 1872 New Mexico Catalog Information

Geometric motifs arranged in rows framed by stripes has been a basic textile design pattern in New Mexican Hispanic weaving for centuries. Its origins can be traced to Spanish textiles that were themselves strongly influenced by Islamic textile traditions. Such influences are obvious when Agueda Martínez's rag jerga (above) is compared with the 15th-century silk textile from Spain below.
 

Hispano-Moresque Textile
15th century
Granada, Spain
Catalog Information