Thatch Rope Cart
This rope-making cart is typical of the traditional devices used to twist silver thatch rope. From the 1800s until the 1960s the rope making industry provided a major source of income in Cayman, reaching its height in 1964 when 1.3 million fathoms of rope were exported. Prior to the industry’s decline in the late 1960s, the rope making process was often a family activity with women helping to gather and later twist the thatch, and children often helping to turn the strands. Thatch Rope Cart highlights the practical use of rope in Caymanian culture as well as its wider symbolic significance to our Islands’ national identity.
About the Artist
Marlena Anglin
b. 1933
Born in West Bay, Grand Cayman, Marlena Anglin learned thatching from her mother and soon became a highly skilled rope maker and weaver of baskets, hats, and other items. She is an active member of the Cayman Islands Traditional Arts Council, creating work for festivals and heritage days as well as teaching crafts to local schoolchildren. She regularly featured in the NGCI annual festival Art@Governor’s and has participated in the NGCI exhibitions 21st Century Cayman exhibition in 2010, Revive: Contemporary Caymanian Craft (2017), Island of Women: Life at Home During our Maritime Years (2020), The People’s Collection: A 25-Year Legacy (2022), and The Ties that Bind (2022).
