North or South American blanket

[goingloco]

I couldn't find a more appropriate place for this question, so here goes.

I have a very old ‘Indian’ blanket and I’m trying to pinpoint whether it is North American or South American.  I’ve tried online searches, but nothing I found has clarified matters.  From what I have read, the pattern could be either an ‘Inca’ style or north American.  It was always known in the family as the ‘red Indian’ blanket, which could be misleading.  My grandparents could have called it that in a general way, just to amuse me!

I had 2 great uncles who left England in 1890 for Buenos Aires.  One seems to have stayed in Argentina, whilst the other relocated to Illinois and became a naturalized US citizen in 1900.  Both brothers stayed in touch with their sisters in England, and I have other gifts they sent home which are easier to identify, from both north & south America, so the blanket could have come from either brother.   I am stumped and need direction.

If anyone knows of a museum or forum for this type of thing, I would love to hear.

Or, if anyone has knowledge of this type of textiles, I could try to post a picture.  But my skills are a bit limited in that direction!

Thank you for reading.

[Erato]

Post a photo.  I've seen a lot of South American weaving; not so much North American.

[Margow]

I note from your profile that you are based in Kent.  Your nearest museum with North and South American collections is probably Maidstone Museum, though I am not sure whether these collections include textiles.   Otherwise, both the British Museum and the Horniman Museum (Forest Hill, London SE23) have collections of North and South American blankets.

If you can manage to post a photograph, that would be helpful.

Margow

[goingloco]

Thank you both for your replies.  I’ll attempt to post a photo tomorrow.

[goingloco]

It’s been a steep learning curve this morning, wrangling with photo sizes, but I think I’ve cracked it.

The blanket is 37” wide by 84” long (without the fringe)

[fiddlerslass]

Here's something similar, Mexican Saltillo blanket

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/vintage-mexican-saltillo-blanket-wool-1940s-1950s--519180663271103562/

[goingloco]

Oh yes! I hadn't even considered Mexican. I focused solely on Argentina & Illinois, where the great uncles lived. 
Maybe it has nothing to do with either of them, after all.

[Margow]

Excellent photograph which shows a typical Central American blanket or serape, most commonly associated with Mexico, but found throughout Central America.  Though it's not clear from the photograph, it's probably woven from wool on cotton warps.

Margow

[goingloco]

The string fringes, the warps(?) do look like cotton. And the weave yarn is a bit coarse and very tightly packed.

It’s an odd size, but used to cover my childhood bed as an extra layer - warm & decorative.