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Dechados Impress in the Textile Art and Fashion Exhibit at the Denver Art Museum

Serena Uliano

The Textile Art and Fashion Exhibit from the Denver Art Museum offers a stunning array of needlework samplers (dechados) created by Latin American women during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. These needlework samplers spanned a great distance in Latin America, from Mexico in North America to Guatemala in Central America and Ecuador and Peru in South America. The textiles that the artists used in the exhibit also differed significantly. Some opted for silk embroidery on linen, while others chose wool or cotton embroidery on canvas.

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Nineteenth-century dechado. Wool or cotton embroidery on canvas foundation. Neusteter Textile Collection: Gift of Frank Freyer from Estate of Mrs. Freyer Sr.. 1972.255.

 

Whether it was silk, linen, wool, canvas, or cotton, the exhibit displays how these commodities reached many corners in Latin America and infiltrated Latin American society. Having access to these textiles connected Latin American countries to the global textile commodity chain transporting and trading the same textiles worldwide. Textiles, in short, allowed Latin American inhabitants to be global and to have commonalities with international places by using the same materials in their daily lives.

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Regardless of the distance or textile used in this exhibit, one fascinating aspect remained the same: all of the Latin American needlework samplers had women artists. Becoming proficient in needlework was an essential part of young women’s education in Latin America and Spain during early modern times and into the late nineteenth century. The samplers in this exhibit highlight the women’s achievements and skills women gained in their needlework training. Therefore, housing various textiles available for the women to use in their work was imperative to bolster their training and understanding of various textile properties and embroidery methods.

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Nineteenth-century dechado. 1800s. Wool embroidery on linen or canvas foundation. Neusteter Textile Collection: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond L. Grimes for the Julia Wolf Glasser Collection. 1965.213.

The ability to work with different textiles and embroidery styles gave women agency in their work. These women artists chose the patterns and stories they wanted to share in their samplers. For example, the sampler from Ecuador in the 1800s with bright red embroidery of the alphabet and numerals invites the viewer to consider the connection between needlework and literacy. The artist opted for wool embroidery on linen or canvas foundation, and the alphabet series needlework is intricate, each in a different style. With this sampler, a young woman demonstrated her interest in textual literacy and becoming proficient in learning the alphabet and numbers through her embroidery. She may have designed her sampler for practical purposes, keeping the alphabet and numerals handy for future use.

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This sampler does carry a link between embroidery and literacy. The artist created the needlework during the nineteenth century, a time when educating women in the Spanish-speaking world became important, especially education about textual literacy. Her sampler highlighted how needlework education became a central part of women’s education to support textual literacy teachings. Yet, this relationship between textual literacy and needlework goes further than gaining practical skills: it allowed this artist to reveal hidden parts of her identity. Through her sampler, the artist found a way to accentuate her personality and passion for literacy in her embroidery.

“Soi de prudensia toledo” lines the top of Prudencia Toledo’s needlework sampler. This inscription marks Prudencia’s work, announcing to the viewer that she was the artist behind her sampler. She used silk embroidery on linen foundation and included detailed thread-drawn work. Beneath her inscription, Prudencia inserted a stitching of a bear and a crowned, double-headed eagle surrounded by the sun and moon motifs. Her piece originates from either the late 1700s or 1800s. Prudencia most

likely created her sampler in a convent school in Mexico. However, based on the motifs she incorporated and the vertical format with patterned squares in the lower half of her sampler, she could have made the sampler in Guatemala, too, since artists in Guatemala utilized the same stitching method.

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Prudencia Toledo’s needlework sampler exemplifies her individuality. She proudly stitched her name on her work, so she would rightfully receive recognition for her diligence. The bear, eagle, moon, and sun stitching symbolized her control and strength; she had power over her work and decision-making day and night when creating her sampler. While this piece does not mention how Prudencia obtained the dyes and fabric she used, it does illuminate her passion for her work.

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Ultimately, displaying women’s samplers in The Textile Art and Fashion Exhibit was twofold. First of all, the samplers distinguished the Latin American countries that contained the artwork. Having a range of textiles available in these nations only made the areas more desirable to others worldwide. With these valuable commodities accessible, people and countries globally considered Latin American countries potential trading partners and places to explore. Then again, presenting the samplers in the exhibit showcased the women’s adeptness and enduring life work and accomplishments. The elaborate stitching and embroidery in the women’s samplers enable viewer to glimpse into the artists’ lives and cultures and revel in their uniqueness.

Prudencia Toledo' s late eighteenth- or early nineteenth-century dechado. Silk embroidery on linen foundation. Neusteter Textile Collection: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond L. Grimes for the Julia Wolf Glasser Collection. 1965.403.

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