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Thumbnail-size images of copyrighted artworks are displayed under fair use, in accordance with guidelines recommended by the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for the Visual Arts, published by the College Art Association in February 2015.
Sis’łichíí (Sash belt)
Native American, Diné (Navajo)
2018
Object Place: Southwest
Medium/Technique
Wool (handspun), warp-face plain weave with patterning warp floats
Dimensions
Length x width (woven portion): 215.9 × 9.5 cm (85 × 3 3/4 in.)
Length (fringe at both ends): 30.5 cm (12 in.)
Length (fringe at both ends): 30.5 cm (12 in.)
Credit Line
Hilsinger Janson Fund for American Art
Accession Number2018.207
OUT ON LOAN
On display at Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, April 1, 2024 – September 2, 2024
On display at Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, April 1, 2024 – September 2, 2024
CollectionsContemporary Art, Americas, Fashion and Textiles
ClassificationsTextiles
DescriptionRed, black and white woven sis’łichíí or sash belt designed by D. Y. Begay, who also handspun the 4-ply wool threads using cochineal dye for red, synthetic for black, and undyed wool for white. The design was woven by Louie Garcia. This example is like others traditionally worn by Diné or Navajo women to belt a two-panel woven dress (biil). D. Y. Begay designed this sis’łichíí or sash belt to be used with a 19th-century two-panel woven dress (biil) in the MFA's collection, 10.103.
Provenance2018, sold by the artist, D. Y. Begay, to the MFA. (Accession Date: April 25, 2018)