This textile is a square-shaped swatch featuring riverine motifs at the center and both zoomorphic and anthropomorphic motifs on its outermost parts. Swatches are generally used to visualize larger textile projects such as blankets, and to demonstrate a run-through of a particular design or technique to be used. Using the pinilian or the supplementary weft technique, the white motifs appear slightly raised or embossed against the indigo background called brocade weaves (Pastor-Roces, 1991). Moreover, this particular swatch can be classified under the pinilian type of textile called dinapat – a textile that has designs that occupy the whole blanket and has a reflective symmetry on both its horizontal and vertical axis (Salvador-Amores & De Las Peñas, 2019).

The riverine motifs featured at the center include frogs (sinan-tokak) and the river (kinalkalayan or kinarkarayan), which reflect the Itneg or Tinguian belief and life shaped by large riverine structures found in their immediate environment. Furthermore, frogs are among those considered as “auspicious creatures” and “taboo dishes” in some of their rituals together with crabs and turtles (Respicio, 2000, p. 85).

Meanwhile, the double-headed eagle motif (sinan-gikgik) appears in alternate with the human figure (sinan-tao) seen on the outermost parts of this textile. Pastor-Roces (1991) articulates that the former is suggestive of a Western influence in its representational approach of depicting the eagle – the motif closely resembles its real-life counterpart of an eagle as opposed to geometric forms mostly employed by the natives (Pastor-Roces, 1991). Meanwhile, the human figure alongside the previously cited motifs can be interpreted to signify the close and harmonious relationship of the Itneg and Tinguian people with their environment (Respicio, 2000).