Dress and belt
Ruth Reeves
(American, 1892–1966)
about 1936
Medium/Techniquelinen plainweave, screen printed
DimensionsCenter back: 104.8 cm (41 1/4 in.)
Center front: 94.6 cm (37 1/4 in.)
Costume: 36 1/2 × 29 × 37 in. (Bust/Waist/Hips) (92.7 × 73.7 × 94 cm)
Center front: 94.6 cm (37 1/4 in.)
Costume: 36 1/2 × 29 × 37 in. (Bust/Waist/Hips) (92.7 × 73.7 × 94 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds donated by the Fashion Council and Elizabeth Ann Coleman
Accession number2018.200.1-2
On View
Not on viewClassificationsCostumes
Collections
After traveling to Guatemala in 1934 on a Fulbright scholarship, New York-educated designer Ruth Reeves was inspired to create a series of textiles related to traditional designs she had seen and collected there. Reeves’s modern interpretation of the Kiché Maya patterns exaggerated their geometric qualities by magnifying them to a much larger scale. The title Totonicapán refers to either a city or a region of Guatemala.
first half of 19th century
17th century
