Woman's gala ensemble. Tehuana culture. Juchitán de Zaragoza, State of Oaxaca, Mexico. c. 2000. 2014.40.1.1-2 (bodice and skirt). Gift of the Textile Endowment Fund Committee and 2015.24.1 (huipil grande or lace headdress). Gift of Gilberto Martinez Fabián, Tehuantepec.
Woman's gala ensemble. Tehuana culture. Isthmus of Tehuantepec, State of Oaxaca, Mexico. 1954. Rayon tabby with rayon machine embroidery. 986.206.13.1-3. This acquisition was made possible with the generous support of Mrs. A. Murray Vaughan from the Doris Heyden Collection.
Fellowship Year: 2013
Project Title: Living Threads: Cloth, Dress and Identity through Mexican History
Living Threads: Cloth, Dress and Identity through Mexican History
Sayer’s 2013 tenure as a Gervers’ fellow was largely spent investigating the ROM’s collection of Tehuana clothing, from the Isthmus of Tbhuantepec in Mexico, including the unique and flamboyant embroidered gala outfits of the local Zapotec women, recent additions to the collection. Clothing from this region is unique for its blend of Mexico’s two distinct textile traditions: that of pre-Conquest, indigenous dyes, weaves, embroidery, and feather work, and post-Conquest, European construction techniques, materials, and garment styles. Sayers traces the origin of this regional textile and garment history through the first half of the twentieth century, when it became a point of national identity and cultural pride, famously adopted by artist Frida Kahlo, up to the present day, where is still worn by Zapotec women on special occasions.
This, along with her 2010 fellowship, contributed greatly to the exhibit ¡Viva México! Clothing & Culture, which was shown at the ROM May 2015 to May 2016.
About the Fellow:
Chloë Sayer is an independent scholar and curator, specializing in Mexican art and culture. Based in London, she is a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain. She lectures extensively, leads cultural tours to Mexico, and has made ethnographic collections in Mexico and Belize for the British Museum.
Chloë Sayer is an independent scholar and curator, specializing in Mexican art and culture. Based in London, she is a Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain. She lectures extensively, leads cultural tours to Mexico, and has made ethnographic collections in Mexico and Belize for the British Museum.
Related Publications: Mexico: Clothing & Culture, with contributions by Alexandra Palmer. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum. (2015)
Viva México! (2015, Spring). ROM, Magazine of the Royal Ontario Museum, 47.4, 28-29 The Fabric of Mexico (48.2, Fall 2015) ROM. 16-19
Mexico: Clothing & Culture, with contributions by Alexandra Palmer. Toronto: Royal Ontario Museum. (2015)
Viva México! (2015, Spring). ROM, Magazine of the Royal Ontario Museum, 47.4, 28-29 The Fabric of Mexico (48.2, Fall 2015) ROM. 16-19