San Ildefonso Pueblo Hand-made Cotton Men’s Ceremonial Dance Leggings [SOLD]

"In the northern Rio Grande pueblos knitted or crocheted leggings of white cotton cord are often worn by dancers. They may be fringed on the outside or up the front with cotton cord, and by various groupings of stitches patterns are worked into the body of the garments. Investigators who visited the pueblos in the latter part of the nineteenth century saw them on both old men and old women as part of the everyday dress in cold weather." Roediger 1991;126

This pair of crocheted leggings is from San Ildefonso Pueblo and shows evidence of having been used in dances several times. Each has an elastic strap across the bottom that would be concealed inside the moccasins. The length is such that they would cover a man's legs from foot to hip. There is cotton cord fringe along the mid-length of each. The crochet pattern is a zigzag series of lightning strips running up the length from bottom to top.

Condition: this this pair of San Ildefonso Pueblo Hand-made Cotton Men's Ceremonial Dance Leggings is in very good condition with some yellowing to the cotton cords.  They perhaps just need a very gentle washing, but we would not do this as it shows they were used.

Provenance: from the estate of Tom Dickerson, a former Santa Fe resident and artist who just recently passed away.

Reference: Roediger, Virginia More. Ceremonial Costumes of the Pueblo Indians: Their Evolution, Fabrication, and Significance in the Prayer Drama, University of California Press, Berkley

Relative Links: Other Fine Southwest Collectibles, San Ildefonso Pueblo, Dance Paraphernalia