Man's sash (banda) and trousers c. 1950

This sash and pair of trousers were made by the Maya people, but when and how exactly, we don't know. The material is so finely wrought and feels almost luminous. I love the balance between the red and blue vertical stripes and the black and white geometric bands running between them. I imagine the person who made this sitting at their loom, carefully choosing the colors and patterns, a process of back and forth, of trial and error. It would have been a slow, meticulous undertaking that demanded patience and skill. Someone made this, threading and pushing, with an intimate knowledge of weaving and design. When I look at it I'm reminded that artists are in an ongoing conversation with each other across time, inspiring one another's creativity. The ambiguity of not knowing is actually what allows for multiple interpretations and meanings, for fixed or definitive readings.