Frank Sherman Benson Fund

Town record or lienzo painted on a plain-weave cotton cloth which consists of nine four-selvaged cotton panels joined together to make one large sheet. This form of Spanish Colonial manuscript was made to provide visual information regarding the history of indigenous Mixtec communities in the Valley of Coixtlahuaca, in the modern state of Oaxaca, Mexico, and their relationships to each other. It is one of six major lienzos that were made for the towns in this Mixtec valley. All share the features of having many place glyphs; delineations of land represented by rectangular areas and often identified by glyphs; written glosses in several languages, including Nahuatl (most frequent), Choco, Mixe and Spanish; and royal genealogies that may encompass other communities as well. The Lienzo of Ihuitlan has all of these attributes, including twenty-one place glyphs, usually glossed in Nahuatl. In general, the glyphs are arranged around the circumference of the textile, and the glyph for Ihuitlan is farthest from the edge in the lower right corner. That glyph is distinguished by a drawing of the Dominican church of Santiago Ihuitlan which is adjacent. The glyphs parallel the locations of the communities in the valley which identifies the lienzo a map, with the uppermost section oriented to the north. Besides the church, the only other European element is the twenty-one names marked in Spanish script. In the center section, genealogies of community rulers and their place glyphs appear, however, not all the place glyphs have corresponding genealogies. The most extensive genealogies are those for Coixtlahuaca, Ihuitlan, and the two unglossed and unidentified localities that have been thought to represent Water and Texcalhueyac. The husband and wife of each generation are seated on a mat or jaguar skin, ancient signs of rank, with a name symbol painted beside each figure. There are 170 figures, arranged in columns according to dynasties and in some cases connected by rows of footprints to indicate how certain rulers were descended from those of other towns. Although one dynasty does not have place identification, through comparison to another lienzo, it is thought to be the Yucucuy dynasty. Three couples make up the rest of the dynastic list with the first relating to the sixth ruling pair of Yucucuy (as seen on the Lienzo Antonio de Leon). Footsteps descending from this couple are evidence that they are the parents of Female 8 Death of the founding pair of the first dynasty of Ihuitlan. The genealogical parts of the lienzo are divided into two sections with the bottom area containing a gloss but not a glyph and three pairs of ancestors; the center area contains the opposite iconography showing a glyph and not a gloss and fifteen pairs of ancestors. Although there are no footprints connecting the genealogies, in the Lienzo Antonio de Leon, the last couple of the first dynasty, Male 4 Water and Female 3 Grass, are represented as the parents of Male 6 Rain, the first ruler of the second dynasty. Genealogies in Mixtec lienzos are thought to validate the legitimacy of the rulers of the communities; however, in this lienzo they also illustrate the ruler's ownership of the community lands as a whole. This inclusion probably helped insure the preservation of the lienzo.

The object is a burden basket. The rim at the top is decorated with a basketry cord attached to the main basket at intervals of approximately 2 1/2 inches, creating a scalloped edge. The design is made by the imbrication techinque. Below the scalloped edge is a row of wolves with their tails up, (a characteristic marker of identity) circling the rim counterclockwise. There is a wave pattern throughout created by imbrication. There are four colors on the basket. The body of the basket is a natural warm brown color. The imbrication areas are natural light straw, natural? red, and dyed? dark brown. The basket is in good and stable condition. On the interior, there are some detached basketry fibers.

Plume stick consisting of a wooden handle and two feathers attached to the handle by two cords of white beads.This pin would be stuck into the bunch of owl feathers (08.491.8807). These items are part of the feathered headgear stuck into a hairnet and tied at the back of a dancer's head.

The object is a coiled rectangular burden basket that tapers toward the base. It is decorated with animal forms and geometric designs in natural blonde and dyed red plant fiber. Under the zigzag design panel at the top of the basket, a reinforcing wood strip is partially broken with a section of approximately six inches missing. The broken ends of the strip were secured to the basket with linen thread by conservation. A buckskin handle or carrying strap is attached to one side of the basket. The handle on the other side was broken off and is missing with nothing but two end loops of skin remaining. The overall condition of the object is fair and stable. Some of the coiled ribs are abraded.

Basket woven in coil method by Jemez weaver Filipe Yepa. Although often attributed in style to Navajo or Apache Yepa was one of five or six men making baskets in this style. The red dye was obtained from the Armenian trader in the town. In some houses baskets not in use were suspended from the rafters, bottom side up, in neat rows. Today men in the Jemez Gachupin family still make coiled baskets, Alcario Gachupin purportedly learning from Yepa. Women used such baskets in a ceremonial dance where they held the basket, "life basket", holding all they will consume. The design is the steps of the cycle of life representing both worlds, black and red,-the here on earth and the spirit world.

Softly woven wool weaving with yellow, orange, cream, brown and green on a red ground. Each end has a green stripe. The design is not symetrical but it consists of zigzag lines, stepped diamonds, crosses and hourglass forms. The ends are finished with overcast red yarn, the sides finished with overcast green yarn. The weaving has a small tag safety pinned to one corner--"Rug#3" "3." which was on when given by donor. There are three red yarn loops on one end as if it once hung on a wall. Condition: Good. Colors vivid and bright on obverse and reverse. One end has a very loose area of weaving in the center of the pale green stripe.

Softly woven wool weaving has diamond pattern that has six diamonds down and seven diamonds across. The two rows of diamonds on outer edges of horizontal are colored in sequence white, yellow, orange, orange, yellow, white and are outlined with brown zigzag line. The two diamond rows next to these are in sequence, orange, gray, blue, gray, orange. The next two diamond rows are in sequence brown, burgandy, ochre, ochre, burgandy, brown and are outlined with white zigzag line. The center panel is all orange/red diamonds outlined with ochre. The two ends have three narrow stripes-red, brown, and white. All four edges are finished with a loose running stitch of orange yarn. It has a small white tag safety pinned on corner "rug #2" "2" which was on when given by donor. Condition: Good. Colors are vivid bright on obverse and reverse although one stainon lower left.

Softly woven wool weaving in orange, black, gray and cream on a red ground. The weaving has two large parrallel zigzag bands, running horizontally, with two toothed diamonds in the center. Each long side has three long toothed designs. Both ends have five stripes. All edges are finished with and overcast red yarn. weaving has a white tag safety pinned to corner "Rug #1" "3" which was on when given by donor. Condition: Good. Colors are vivid and bright on obverse and reverse.

Twined cylindrical basket with false embroidery tightly woven into a fret and arrow design in red and ivory . Examined by Deborah Head, a Tlingit/Haida basket maker on 6/17/09, who mentioned that this basket has a different type of border and is important for that reason. She also said that the medium is spruce root. Condition: good.