Vintage Itneg / Tinguian Pinilian Figural Blanket – Abra, Northern Luzon, Philippines

Handmade vintage Itneg (Tinguian) pinilian-type figural blanket from the Abra region of Northern Luzon, Philippines, featuring an unusually extensive anthropomorphic design worked against a brilliant red ground.

Measuring approximately 57 × 74 inches, the textile is decorated with numerous stylized human figures arranged in horizontal registers. Larger linked figures form prominent upper and lower borders, while the center is dominated by a remarkable single anthropomorphic figure enclosed within a large diamond-shaped reserve. Dark serrated borders frame the composition.

The decoration is structurally worked into the textile rather than printed, employing the supplementary patterning/brocading techniques associated with traditional northern Luzon pinilian weaving. The reverse clearly reveals the construction of the figural motifs.

Especially interesting is the contrasting yellow/tan yarn running horizontally through the center. Comparable documented Itneg pinilian blankets employ contrasting yellow embroidery or stitching to join separately woven sections, making this an important construction feature rather than simply decorative coloration or an obvious later repair.

Itneg textiles are particularly admired for their complex supplementary-weft designs incorporating human figures, animals and geometric imagery, with some traditional blankets serving important ceremonial as well as utilitarian functions.

Origin: Abra / Northern Luzon, Philippines

Culture: Itneg (Tinguian), attributed

Type: Pinilian-type figural blanket / textile

Date: Probably early-to-mid 20th century

Dimensions: Approximately 57 × 74 in.

Technique: Handwoven ground with supplementary figural patterning and contrasting panel joinery

Materials: Fiber not laboratory tested

Design: Anthropomorphic figures, central figure within diamond, linked-figure borders and serrated geometric borders

Vintage condition with age-related wear, irregularities, scattered surface wear and evidence of traditional construction/use. Please examine photographs closely as they form an important part of the condition description.

An unusually graphic and visually compelling example of Philippine Cordillera textile art, distinguished by its large scale, extensive anthropomorphic imagery and central figural medallion.