Mexican Zapotec Wool Rug After Navajo Rio Grande Pattern. The optical art in center is a classic Navajo design, and one of the few ways to tell the difference between their rugs and the Zapotec is the decreased number of fringes on Navajo crafts, as well as a slightly tighter weft. 

Condition: Excellent. 

Size: 66 x 31 in. 

Teotitlán del Valle is a small Mexican village and municipality located in the Tlacolula District in the east of the Valles Centrales Region, roughly 19 miles from the city of Oaxaca in the foothills of the Sierra Juárez mountains. It is part of the Tlacolula Valley district, and is believed to be the origin of the textile industry throughout the region. They are known especially for Zapotec rugs, which are woven on hand-operated looms, from wool obtained from local sheep and dyed mainly with local, natural dyes. Nearly seventy percent of the population is devoted solely to the making of textiles, and in modern times they combine historical Zapotec designs with contemporary designs such as reproductions of famous artists’ work. Artists take commissions and participate in tours of family-owned workshops. Established in 1465, it was one of the first villages founded by Zapotec peoples in this area during the final days of the Monte Alban period, and retains its Zapotec culture and language. Prior to the 16th Century, all Oaxacan textiles were made using wool, but the silk from a particularly potent and versatile silkworm that was introduced to the valley in 1523 soon dominated production. However, when their wares began to outshine those made by Spanish weavers back home in the 1550s, the governor of Oaxaca was ordered to cut down and burn every mulberry tree in the region to kill off the worms and stabilize the trade routes. Only two small villages, San Mateo Penasco and San Pedro Cajonos, were able to save their worms from extinction, and today they are the primary competition with Teotitlán, which produces all their wares in the indigenous wool. Nevertheless, the brief period of silkworm dominance led to a cultural exchange of designs and techniques the valley had never seen before, and every day artisans from throughout the valley travel massive distances to set up a stand in the zocalo, or central square of the city of Oaxaca, selling their rugs that range from representational mythological scenes to incredibly intricate and vibrant geometric symbols. They are collected by people all over the world, and have been seen in numerous museums across the Americas and in Europe.

Excellent.