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A History of Navajo Rugs and Navajo Blankets
Navajo rugs and blankets are prized by collectors all over the world for their beauty and durability. They are truly among the great icons of Southwest Native Arts. For many Navajo women, weaving is not only a source of livelihood, it is a way to participate in traditional Navajo culture and community. The art of weaving is deeply felt expression of beauty, harmony, and balance: concepts that lie at the center of Navajo art and life.
ORIGINSThe Navajo or Dine (dih-NEH, the Navajo word for themselves, meaning “the people”) are an Athabascan people who migrated to the Southwest from western Canada sometime between 1300 and 1500 AD. After their arrival, a holy person named Spider Woman taught the Dine how to weave. Spider Man gave them instructions for building the looms. Accordingly, Dine men build the looms for their wives, daughters and mothers, but women traditionally do the weaving. Anthropologists believe that the Navajo learned to weave from their Pueblo Indian neighbors. Since about 800 AD, the Pueblo peoples had been weaving cotton originally brought from Mexico. The Navajo and Pueblo had extensive contact through friendly trading, but also through the raiding depredations and slave taking of the Navajo from surrounding tribes. Pueblo influence on the Navajo undoubtedly increased when the Spanish occupied Pueblo lands beginning in the late 1500s. Religious repression and harsh treatment at the hands of the Spanish drove many Pueblo families to escape deep into Navajo territory. By the mid-1600s, the Navajo were becoming skilled weavers. Prior to imparting their weaving knowledge to the Navajo, Pueblo weavers themselves had come under the influence of Spanish weavers. The most important and long-lasting change was the introduction of wool. Churro sheep, not native to the Americas, had accompanied the earliest Spanish explorers and settlers in the Southwest. With its very long, wiry fibers, Churro wool was easy to spin and made very durable weavings. Although the Pueblo peoples continue to use cotton as well as wool to the present day (particularly for ceremonial garments) the Navajo whole-heartedly adopted wool and became a sheep-herding society. The Navajo’s use of cotton declined over the course of the eighteenth century, and only one early Navajo weaving in cotton is known to survive.
Churro Ram Bronze Mark Rossi Garments—especially wearing blankets—comprised most of the products of the early Navajo and Pueblo looms. Traditional, Native-made blankets were wider than long (when the warp was held vertically) and were typically known as mantas. The Spanish introduced the longer than wide serape (or sarape) form that was easier to make on European style looms. Mantas and serapes generally were used in the same way: wrapped around the shoulders with the long edges on the horizontal. However, mantas also were used by women as wrap-around dresses secured with a woven sash or belt. Navajo serapes only rarely had a slit in the middle for the head which made them ponchos. Navajo weavers made both the manta and serape styles during the eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries along with shirts, breechcloths, and belts. As we will see, the now-famous Navajo rug was an invention of the late nineteenth century.
Bronze Susan Kliewer Scholars and collectors usually classify Navajo weaving into four overlapping periods defined by types of products, styles, and materials, although few scholars agree on the appropriate dates for each period. In any event the dates and periods should be understood only as a rough chronology allowing for many exceptions.
CLASSIC NAVAJO BLANKETS c1650-1868Navajo weavings from the early Classic Period are exceedingly rare, and many exist only as fragments found at archaeological sites. The handful of examples that pre-date 1800 reveal that early Navajo weaving was nearly identical to Pueblo weaving. It included clothing and blankets made in both plain and twill weaves, rendered in striped, stepped, or plain patterns. Weavers drew their colors primarily from the natural wool, ranging from white to dark brown. Indigo, a non-native, deep blue plant dye, was being imported by the Spanish when the Navajo started weaving, and was available to them through trade. In addition, Navajo weavers made yellow dyes from native plants, and sometimes combined them with indigo to make green. By the late 1700s, Navajo weavers had access to a deep red color that came in the form of imported woolen cloth called bayeta (or “baize,” in English.) Weavers actually unraveled the cloth and re-spun the yarns, giving this fiber the modern name, “raveled red.” During the Classic Period, the Navajo made three types of longer than wide serape style blankets. The Moqui (Moki) pattern consisted of alternating stripes of indigo and natural brown, often separated by narrow white stripes. Early traders thought the Hopi made these blankets, hence they were named Moqui, the Spanish word for the Hopi people. Serapes made from loosely spun and coarsely woven wool were called diyugi meaning “fluffy weave.” Diyugi featured natural brown and white stripes, sometimes embellished with narrow beaded, wavy, or checkerboard stripes.
In the early 1800s, Navajo weavers began creating serapes with elaborate patterns of striped and stepped motifs, often arranged in bands of diamonds and zig-zags. This third blanket style of fancy serapes flourished at the end of the Classic Period due to two important influences: the importation of Hispanic weavings—particularly the colorful Saltillo style serapes, and the importation of pre-dyed, factory-made yarns in a wide array of brilliant colors, beginning in the 1850s. The Saltillo type usually consisted of a large, colorful, and elaborate serrated diamond motif in the center, with rows of smaller serrated diamonds throughout the weaving. Navajo weavers slowly and selectively adopted new design ideas. Nevertheless, the complicated and colorful patterns that resulted from these outside influences marked the first major departure from traditional style Pueblo/Navajo weaving and were a precursor of the highly-patterned and finely woven rugs of the twentieth century. Navajo weavers continued to make all of the Classic Period serape types well into the Transitional Period, but the most highly skilled weavers focused their creative energies on the finely woven, elaborately patterned type of serape first produced in the early 1800s. These Late Classic Period pieces differed from their predecessors in the greater complexity of patterns and color palette. Many of the best weavers of the Transitional Period drew inspiration from Saltillo style weaving to create highly elaborate patterns of serrated diamonds and zigzags. Late Classic Period serapes also tended to be more colorful than strict Classic Period items due to the ever increasing number of new chemical dye colors coming on the market in the 1870s and 1880s. A new functional type of serape—the Navajo child’s blanket or small blanket— became more common at the end of the Classic Period and usually is given a Late Classic Period designation. While these small, fancy serapes certainly were used by children in some cases, they also were made as saddle blankets and saddle covers, and were used as covers for the doorway of the hogan, the traditional Navajo dwelling. These small, decorative weavings also were made for trade to military personnel who wanted to take a bit of Navajo culture with them when they returned back East.
Classic Period Child's Serape Navajo weavers made four distinct types of wider than long mantas in the Classic Period: plain black with indigo twill borders, white with indigo twill borders, patterned borders on either side of a solid center, and striped weavings now commonly known as “chief blankets.” All of these blanket types were used by both men and women with the possible exception of the white and blue mantas, often called “maiden shawls.” Blankets made for women often were of smaller size than those made for men. The use of chief blankets certainly was not limited to tribal leaders (the Navajo did not have “chiefs.”) The name probably derives from the fact that they were highly prized by wealthy and powerful members of Plains tribes who sought them in trade with the Navajo’s neighbors including the Utes and Comanches. Weavings scholar, Jo Ben Wheat, has divided the production of chief blankets into four broadly overlapping categories.
Fragment of First Phase Navajo Chief Blanket First Phase Navajo blankets were made from about 1800 to 1850 and consisted of black (or brown) and white stripes with the top, bottom and center stripes being wider than the others. The border stripes sometimes contained pairs of narrow indigo blue stripes, and outlining in very narrow stripes if raveled red.
Second Phase Navajo Chief Blanket Second Phase Navajo blankets included small red bars or rectangles at the center and ends of the blue stripes and were made about 1810 to 1870.
Third Phase Navajo Chief Blanket
The Third Phase Navajo blankets, are between 1860 and 1880, saw the addition of stepped or serrated diamonds of color to the center and ends of the wide stripes. Typically, the center of the blanket featured a full diamond, with quarter diamonds at the corners and half diamonds in the middle of the border bands. Weavings of the Fourth Phase, made from 1870 through the early years of the twentieth century, were actually products of the Transitional Period. Not all collectors recognize this as a distinct phase. In this type, the diamond motifs became larger and more elaborate, often overtaking the black and white stripes as primary design elements. Revivals of chief blankets have been made through most of the Rug Period and are described below.
In the late 1700s, Navajo women adopted a new type of dress that supplemented, and eventually replaced, the blue and black, wrap-around manta dress of Pueblo origin. The Navajo two-piece dress consisted of two matching, longer than wide blankets laid face to face and joined at the top corners or shoulders, and sewn about half way up the sides, forming the skirt portion. They usually were held in place with a woven belt. By the end of the Classic Period, the typical design for the two-piece dress consisted of a solid brown or black ground with stepped, red or indigo bands at top and bottom, often incorporating crosses, diamonds, or other terraced motifs.
Panels of a Navajo Two-piece Dress Two-piece Navajo Girl's Dress A Navajo Woman, Juanita, in a Two-piece Dress, c. 1873
TRANSITIONAL NAVAJO BLANKETS c1868-1895The traditional economy of the Navajo consisted of a mix of farming, hunting, gathering, trading, and raiding. Periodic raids were an activity the Navajo held in common with many of their neighbors including the Apache, Comanche, and Ute. When the United States acquired the Southwest as spoils of the Mexican-American War in 1848, the U.S. government inherited the problem of Indian attacks on settlements of U.S. citizens. As part the government’s larger effort to “domesticate” all Native peoples, Colonel Kit Carson was ordered to subdue and relocate the Navajo to the Apache Reservation at Bosque Redondo in eastern New Mexico in 1863. The task was difficult because the Navajo lived in widely scattered, autonomous family groups. Nevertheless, Carson and his men succeeded in capturing about 8000 men, women and children by slaughtering their sheep and destroying their crops and homes. The incarceration at Bosque Redondo—during which about 1000 internees perished—was a deeply traumatic event for Navajo families and society. For the Navajo people as a whole, it also was a watershed in their economy and culture. As such, it could not fail to dramatically affect the now deeply ingrained tradition of Navajo weaving. With their Churro flocks destroyed, Navajo weavers at Bosque Redondo lost their source of high quality, long staple fiber and the ability to make their own clothing and blankets. To compensate for the loss, the U.S. Army issued bolts of commercially manufactured cloth from the East and thousands of blankets made by Hispanic weavers in New Mexico and factories in the East. Army officials probably made Anglo-style clothing available as well, in their attempt to “civilize” the Indians. For the weavers, the Army provided factory-spun yarns, including pre-dyed Saxony (from Europe) and Germantown (Pennsylvania) wools. Machine-made cotton string to be used for warp threads also formed part of the allotment. The Army did replace some of the sheep as well, but instead of the Spanish Churros, they provided American Merino sheep. This new breed had short, kinky, greasy wool that was difficult to clean, spin, and weave. The resulting decline in weaving quality reinforced the Navajos’ dependence on commercial materials. The experience of Bosque Redondo, then, had two profound effects on Navajo textiles: it dramatically increased the availability of machine made materials for weaving, and it intensified the exposure of Navajo weavers to blankets and clothing made in the Hispanic and Anglo traditions. The Navajo internees were allowed to return to their (now smaller) homelands in 1868, but the heightened influence of American and Hispanic culture did not end then. In 1867, the Navajo nation had been placed under the authority of the Bureau of Indian Affairs whose agent was permanently responsible for the distribution of annuity goods. In the 1870s, commercial traders moved onto the Reservation and further provided commercially made yarns, chemical dyes, cloth, blankets and clothing in exchange for raw wool, weavings, and pelts. The Navajo had traded blankets to their neighbors—especially the Pueblo peoples—since they started weaving. Although this exchange continued, the Anglo-American traders at Reservation trading posts quickly became a much greater economic force. By the 1890s, the traders were the Navajo’s primary economic link to the outside world. Navajo weavers continued to produce most of the blanket and clothing types of the Classic Period, but with significant changes in both style and function. After Bosque Redondo, use of the two-piece dress gradually declined in favor of American style skirts and blouses, particularly the calico and velveteen now so closely associated with traditional Navajo women. By the 1890s, most two-pieces dresses were being made for ceremonial use or, in some cases, for trade to the Anglo market as decorative objects. Navajo women also continued to use the blue and black, wrap-around blanket dresses for ceremonies or special occasions, but maiden shawls were probably made for the Pueblo market where fewer and fewer individuals practiced weaving. Transitional Period weavers clearly favored striped chief blankets over other manta types, and continued to modify and elaborate the basic striped pattern. These Fourth Phase chief blankets exhibit a wide range of variation including: new chemical colors, new motifs such as rows of crosses or rectangles, terraced or serrated lines and zigzags; and diamond patterns so enlarged as to dominate the striped background. The most dramatic changes to traditional weaving types occurred in serapes. Many of the best weavers of the Transitional Period drew inspiration from Saltillo style weaving to create highly elaborate patterns of serrated diamonds and zigzags in bright, chemical colors, especially reds, oranges, and yellows. Weavers frequently outlined the small serrated patterns with a single yarn of contrasting color to heighten the visual complexity and impact. This patterning technique became known in the 20th century as the Eyedazzler, and usually consisted of small, serrated diamonds that formed rows of larger serrated diamonds, all with contrasting outlines. Despite its Hispanic origins, Navajo weavers executed the Eyedazzler concept with tremendous creativity and truly made it their own during the Transitional Period.
Germantown Eyedazzler The other big change in fancy serapes during this period was the frequent use of commercial yarns. Machine spinning resulted in very tight, dense, evenly spun yarns of small diameter. This allowed weavers to create thin, but tightly woven blankets of unsurpassed technical excellence. Weavers also took advantage of the commercial yarns’ wide range of chemical colors to create bold, rich, high contrast patterns that remain distinctive in the history of Navajo weaving. Because of the predominance of Germantown yarns, these weavings are now generically known as Germantowns although other commercial yarns of American and European manufacture also were used.
The soft, spongy diyugi or everyday wearing blankets underwent changes similar to—if less spectacular than—fancy serapes. During the Transitional Period, Navajo weavers added chemical reds, oranges and yellows to the plain brown and white striped diyugi, often replacing the natural brown altogether. The patterns also became slightly more elaborate with the addition of rows of slanted bars or zig-zag stripes in contrasting colors. These handspun, brightly colored weavings are now generically called Transitionals. An unusual variant of the Transitional blanket, known as Wedge Weave, became a minor fad in the 1880s and 1890s. In the wedge weave technique, the warp threads (those strung on the loom) are pulled to the diagonal so that the weft threads create diagonal stripes. After weaving several inches of fabric in this manner, the wefts are then pulled to the diagonal in the opposite direction, resulting in zig-zag bands of diagonal bars or stripes. In some cases, Navajo weavers alternated wedge woven bands with bands of straight weave in a single blanket. Because of the pulled warps, the sides of wedge weave blankets are wavy rather than straight; a characteristic which helps identify true wedge weaves. As the Navajo people resettled their homelands after Bosque Redondo, the use of horses became an ever greater part of Navajo culture and economy. As a result, the weaving of horse trappings blossomed in the Transitional Period. Saddle blankets were made of thick, spongy, handspun yarns, but tightly battened or packed to make a durable textile that protected the horse from saddle chafe.
Navajo Double Saddle Navajo Double Saddle Blanket Single Saddle Blankets were roughly 30” square, and Double Saddle Blankets were of similar width, but about twice and long and were doubled over when in use to provide extra padding. Early saddle blankets often were woven in simple striped patterns, and double saddle blankets now are sometimes difficult to distinguish from small wearing blankets of the Transitional Period. By the end of the period, saddle blankets frequently had patterns only at the corners or edges since only those parts of the blanket were visible when in use. Double saddle blankets sometimes had a different pattern on each half. Fancy Saddle Blankets, often featuring bright colors, elaborate patterns and fringes, were probably more for show than function. Evidence suggests they often were tied to the saddle skirt behind the cantle rather than being placed under the saddle. Navajo weavers also created saddle Cinches. Consisting of a strap, roughly 30” x 5”, with a metal ring woven into each end, the cinch went around the horse’s belly, and the saddle was secured to it with leather straps passed through the rings. Most cinches and many saddle blankets were made in a diamond twill weave. The Navajo typically made twill saddle blankets with two contrasting colors to create a vibrant optical effect.
Indian Horses by John Moyers, CAA
RUG RUG PERIOD WEAVINGS c1895 to presentBy the 1890s, the internal demand for Navajo weaving was almost non-existent. The Navajo people wore commercially made Anglo-style clothing and used blankets manufactured by woolen mills around the country, most famously the Pendleton Mills in Oregon. With access to the same affordable, manufactured goods, the Navajo’s tribal neighbors also ceased their demand for most types of Navajo weaving. Reliable access to clothing, blankets and many other Anglo commodities was provided by the licensed Indian traders who moved onto the Navajo Reservation in the 1870s and 1880s. By 1889, traders had established nineteen trading posts across the Reservation, and about thirty other posts lay along the Reservation boundaries. In exchange for food and durable goods, the traders primarily took in raw wool, pelts, and blankets. By the end of the Transition Period, however, the traders—just like the Navajo themselves—found a declining market for native blankets. Therefore, raw wool from their burgeoning flocks was probably the most important commodity the Navajo could offer in trade.
In the early 1890s, the Navajo wool trade took a series of blows that dramatically changed the Navajo economy generally, and weaving specifically. In 1893 a widespread financial panic seized the US economy, depressing commodity prices, including wool. To complicate the situation, the decade also saw a serious drought that further depleted rangelands already overgrazed by flocks the Navajo rebuilt after Bosque Redondo. This confluence of factors, both internal and external, restricted the Navajo’s ability to trade, and severely stifled their economy. During this difficult time, several traders realized that there could be an external market for Navajo weavings made as rugs rather than blankets. The nascent market for Indian rugs was fueled at the turn of the century by a growing national interest in Native peoples and artifacts. Native peoples of the Southwest were of especial interest because their cultures had been not quite as severely disrupted and decimated as most eastern and northern tribes. Tourists, anthropologists, missionaries, and curiosity seekers of the era all had convenient access to Navajo lands via the Santa Fe Railroad which had pushed its way along the southern edge of the Reservation, connecting Chicago and Los Angeles in the 1880s. Well-heeled tourists wanted unique souvenirs of the exotic places and peoples they visited. Rugs could easily be incorporated into the highly eclectic and overstuffed interiors of the period. As souvenirs, rugs were more attractive and useful than Navajo blankets which, by Anglo/European standards, were small and oddly proportioned. The navajo rug market was not limited to tourists. Many people who would never visit the Reservation appreciated the exotic designs and laborious handcraftsmanship of Navajo weaving. Proponents of the Arts & Crafts design movement of the period found that the bold, geometric designs harmonized beautifully with their simple furniture and handmade accessories. By 1896, C.N. Cotton, a trader in Gallup, New Mexico had issued a catalogue in an effort to expand his market to eastern retailers. Other traders, most notably Lorenzo Hubbell at Ganado, Arizona and J.B. Moore at Crystal, New Mexico, followed up with their own catalogues in the early years of the new century, focusing specifically on rugs. Navajo weaving had quickly gained a national audience. From the 1880s through the 1930s, reservation traders were the Navajos’ primary contact with the outside world. As such, they also were the weavers’ primary—or even sole—customers. Therefore traders exercised significant influence on weavings simply by paying more for the designs, sizes, colors, and qualities they wanted. Of course, trader’s choices were driven by what they thought they could sell to their off-reservation customers, but they also were guided by their own aesthetic sensibilities. As a result, distinctive styles of rugs emerged around several trading posts in the first years of the twentieth century. Such combinations of pattern and color are known as Regional Styles and are typically named after the trading post that encouraged their production. It should be noted, however, that many rugs produced throughout the century did not conform to a particular regional style and are now difficult to assign to a particular trading post. In recent years as weavers have become more mobile and independent of local trading posts, they often choose to weave patterns originated outside of their area. Many also combine motifs and characteristics from several different regions. As a result, the regional style names are now mostly used to identify common pattern types without necessarily referring to the exact place of origin of a specific weaving. Ganado Trading Post Maynard Dixon (1875-1946)
Juan Lorenzo Hubbell was, by most accounts, the leading trader of the early Rug Period and owned several trading posts around the Reservation as well as a large warehouse in the railroad town of Winslow, Arizona. Hubbell’s home and base of operation were at Ganado, Arizona about 50 miles south of Canyon de Chelly. His tastes ran to Classic Navajo Period weavings and many of the early rugs made by Ganado area weavers were close enough in appearance to classic mantas and serapes to have earned the generic name, Hubbell Revival rugs. Hubbell guided his weavers by displaying paintings of rug patterns he favored. Many of these paintings can still be seen at the original trading post, now preserved and operated as a National Historic Site. Hubbell preferred a color scheme of red, white, and black, with natural greys, often substituting black for elements that would have been indigo blue in Classic Period weavings. By the 1930s, Ganado area weavers had thoroughly adopted the color scheme, but had moved away from Classic-inspired weavings to new patterns with a large central motif—often a complicated diamond or lozenge shape—with a double or triple geometric border. These rugs frequently had a deep red “ground” or field on which the central motif was superimposed, and are now known as the Ganado regional style.
Ganado
Weavers around the nearby trading post at Klagetoh, Arizona (also owned by Hubbell) often worked in the same colors and patterns, but reversed the color scheme and used a grey ground with red, white and black central motifs. The Ganado and Klagetoh style navjo rugs continue to be made to this day and are among the most popular of all Navajo rug designs.
Klagetoh J.B. Moore, who owned the trading post at Crystal, New Mexico from 1897-1911, was another visionary trader who exercised enormous influence over early Navajo rug design. Perhaps his most important innovation was to introduce weavers in his region to Oriental rug patterns. Rather than copying wholesale, the Navajo filtered the new patterns through their own cultural sensibilities and personal design preferences. In the process, they drew out specific concepts and motifs, re-synthesizing them into distinctly Navajo designs. Motifs probably derived from oriental rugs include repeated hook shapes (often called “latch hooks”), the “waterbug” shaped like an “X” with a bar through the middle and, in a small number of weavings, rosettes. An even more lasting and fundamental influence was the concept of a large central motif in one, two or three parts, that covers almost all of the ground between the borders. Even the concept of the border itself, usually in two or three layers with at least one in a geometric pattern, is probably traceable to oriental carpet design. Though introduced in the region around Crystal, these motifs and ideas quickly spread to other areas of the Reservation and are found on many rugs woven throughout the past century. Moore’s influence on Navajo rugs was not only widespread but of long duration. Designs his weavers developed before 1911 were still being made, virtually unchanged, as late as the 1950s. These oriental-influenced patterns are now known as Early Crystal rugs. Those made at the beginning of the century typically featured aniline red with natural whites, browns and greys, while rugs made from the 1920s on tended to rely even more heavily on a wide range of natural wool colors. One of the most popular patterns that likely resulted from Moore’s work at Crystal was the Storm Pattern. This design is generally defined as a central rectangle connected by zig-zag lines to smaller rectangles in each corner. The storm pattern often is said to have symbolic meaning: the zig-zags are lighting, the corner rectangles are the four sacred mountains of the Navajo or the four directions or the four winds, etc. Nevertheless, the great variety of interpretations suggests that meanings were assigned by Anglo traders and collectors, not by the Navajo themselves. The storm pattern’s precise origin is uncertain—one story suggests it was developed by a trader on the western side of the Reservation—but the weavers at Crystal developed this concept into one of the most popular and lasting of all Navajo rug patterns. Not far from Crystal was the Two Grey Hills trading post, known for weavings in which no colored dyes were used. Instead, weavers carefully combed and spun different natural colors of yarn to yield a beautiful range of creamy whites, tans, browns, and greys. (To get a solid black color, weavers sometimes would over-dye dark brown wool with black dye.) The weavers around Two Grey Hills developed very complex geometric patterns, usually based on a large, hooked, central diamond with multiple geometric borders. They also were known for very finely spun wool of small diameter which they used to make very thin, dense, and tightly woven rugs that are certainly the greatest technical achievements in the history of Navajo rug making. Many of the women who now weave for nearby Toadlena Trading Post carry on this tradition of quality. The most finely woven rugs often are called tapestry rugs. Beginning in the 1920s, weavers and traders developed several new regional styles based on a revival of Transitional Period banded patterns and the predominant use of vegetal dyes. The impetus behind this trend came primarily from Anglo collectors, traders, and government agencies that had a sincere desire to upgrade the quality of Navajo weaving and return to traditional, pre-rug patterns. The resulting rugs were not literal copies of older pieces, but were creative variations on banded designs using a wide palette of newly developed natural dye colors, as well as new, subtly colored chemical dyes. Mary Cabot Wheelwright, founder of the Wheelwright Museum in Santa Fe, probably started the “vegetal revival” by providing weavers around Chinle, Arizona with the new dyes and sketches of old weavings. Chinle Revival rugs typically feature bands of repeating geometric motifs alternated with plain or striped bands of contrasting colors. Common colors for Chinle rugs include yellow, gold, brown, tan, terra cotta, soft pink and other earth tones, as well as natural wool colors ranging from white to black. Weavers in the area south of Chinle, around Nazlini, developed a variation on the Chinle type which often used stylized plant motifs in place of the repeating geometrics.
Chinle About the time of World War II, Crystal-area weavers developed their own banded “revival” rugs bearing no resemblance to Moore’s early designs. Generally known as Modern Crystal rugs, these borderless patterns ususally consist of wide bands of alternating color, with rows of geometric motifs in one set of bands. They often combine vegetal and aniline colors in shades of brown, yellow, and terra cotta with natural greys and whites. One of the characteristics commonly associated with Modern Crystals is the “wavy line” pattern. This is accomplished by alternating weft threads of two contrasting colors and tightly “battening” or packing them together, giving the effect of a thin, undulating line.
Starting in the 1940s, Sally and William Lippincott, owners of the trading post at Wide Ruins, Arizona worked with the weavers in their area to develop highly detailed banded patterns rendered in vegetal dyes. Most Wide Ruins rugs are characterized by very fine, tightly-spun yarns and a flat, even weave. They feature the full range of new vegetal colors including soft green, mauve, terra cotta, and pale purple, pink and blue as well as the more common yellow, gold, brown, and tan. Black is rare in Wide Ruins weavings. The designs look like finely rendered, small-scale versions of Chinle and Modern Crystal rugs, and often incorporate narrow bands of the “wavy line” motif.
Wide Ruins Subsequent to the developments at Wide Ruins, weavers in the nearby areas of Three Turkey Ruins and Pine Springs created subtle variations on the design, typically using more greens in the former, and a wider variety of pastels in the latter. Burntwater, another center of vegetal dye weaving in the Wide Ruins area, has given its name to a distinctive rug type which combines the bordered, central geometric designs of modern Ganado and Two Grey Hills rugs with bright pastel, vegetal colors. Throughout the Rug Period, Navajo weavings that incorporate images of objects and people in their designs have slowly gained in popularity. Such Pictorial Rugs may include small representational images within a larger geometric design, or may consist primarily—even solely—of a picture. Small pictorial motifs occasionally appeared on Transitional Period weavings and typically consisted of feathers, arrows, animals and other common objects that may have held some personal significance for the individual weaver. As the modern trappings of Anglo culture filtered onto the Reservation, strange new objects such as cattle, trains, American flags, and letters of the alphabet caught the fancy of some weavers. Germantown "sampler" with bow and arrow pictorial elements in addition to the "whirling logs" motif, c. 1890, 20" x 20." Navajo Pictorials made before the 1940s are relatively uncommon and usually command a premium price. After World War II, however, more weavers began making pictorial weavings, frequently filling a small rug with a single scene. Types that have been especially popular since the 1970s include landscape scenes which usually feature red cliffs or mountains, blue sky and clouds, juniper and pine trees, hogans, farm animals, trucks, and people. Another common format is called the “Tree of Life” pattern, consisting of a corn stalk rising from a Navajo wedding basket, with birds adorning the leaves of the cornstalk.
Tree of Life Pictorial Courtesy Musuem of the West
Despite the obvious symbolism of patterns such as the “Tree of Life,” most pictorial motifs had no specific religious meaning; they simply were objects common in the culture or of special interest to the weaver. The major exceptions to this rule, however, were weavings that portrayed Yeis, or Navajo Holy People, and weavings that recreated sacred ceremonial sand paintings. A small number of weavers made Sand Painting Rugs as early as the 1890s in the area around Two Grey Hills. Most famously, the medicine man Hosteen Klah made a series of sand painting rugs with the help of his mother and nieces between 1919 and 1936. Nevertheless, sand painting rugs were very rare before the 1960s when weavers in the Ganado area began producing them in larger numbers. Although they are not sacred objects in themselves, rugs showing sacred sandpainting images have always been somewhat controversial within the Navajo community, and many weavers still decline to make such representations. Yei pattern rugs feature images of the Holy People drawn from ceremonial sand paintings but do not recreate an entire painting. The closely related Yeibechai rugs show Navajo dancers in the act of portraying Yeis in ceremonies. Typically, the Yeis are highly stylized figures with elongated bodies, short straight legs, and heads facing the viewer. Yebechais have somewhat more human proportions, usually face sideways, and often have legs bent in a dancing motion. The earliest Yei rugs usually included one or two large Yei figures oriented vertically, i.e. parallel with the warp. In some cases, small Yei images were included in rugs with geometric patterns or other pictorial elements. Though quite rare, these early types were made over a period of nearly four decades, falling out of favor by the 1930s. In the 1910s, a very small number of weavers made single figure type rugs which portrayed not the Navajo Yei, but rather Hopi Katsina figures with characteristic tableta headdresses. The more common types of Yei and Yeibechai rugs feature multiple figures oriented parallel with the weft threads so that the rug appears wider than long when the figures are upright. Two distinct styles emerged in the 1920s. Those made in the area of Shiprock, New Mexico tend to have light colored backgrounds with no border, and often use brightly colored commercial yarns. Yeis and Yeibechais made in the central part of the reservation, in northeastern Arizona, tend to have dark backgrounds with simple borders. They are more likely to incorporate natural wool colors and more subdued chemical shades. Yeis continue to be very popular with collectors and are now being made in nearly all parts of the reservation. Although rugs have been the predominant product of Navajo looms over past century, weavers have continued to make other types of products, if on a smaller scale. Single, double, and fancy saddle blankets were commonly produced until the 1950s. Saddle blankets since that time have been made more for show than for use. Twill-woven double saddle blankets are still made by some weavers, but mostly are intended for use as rugs or display pieces.. During the first several decades of the twentieth century, weavers near railroad stops and tourist centers made small, loosely woven, pictorial and geometric mats for the touris trade. Now known as Gallup Throws, these inexpensive items were a favorite, easy to transport souvenir among visitors to the southwest. Pictorial and geometric “rugs,” too small for use on the floor and typically made with commercially spun and dyed yarns, remain a staple of the souvenir trade to this day. Traditional, two-piece Navajo dresses continue to be made for ceremonial use, and Anglo clothing forms such as vests or jackets were made by a small number of weavers in the middle of the last century. Weaving techniques in the Navajo Rug Period have primarily been limited to the standard “tapestry” weave which is identical on both sides. Nevertheless, some weavers still practice the more difficult twill weaves, including rare two-faced weavings which have a different twill pattern on each side. In the 1960s, weavers in the area of Coal Mine Mesa in Arizona popularized an unusual technique called Raised Outline in which the joints between color areas are thicker and appear to rise above the surface of the weaving. Most raised outline rugs also use the technique of alternating single weft threads of two contrasting colors. When tightly battened, they give the appearance of very thin stripes running parallel to each warp thread. As with any collecting specialty, there is so much to learn about Navajo weaving that it can seem overwhelming for the beginner. The best way to learn is to look at as many weavings as you can in galleries and museums, and don’t be afraid to ask questions! Soon you’ll be matching the terminology to the weavings and you’ll begin to feel a surge of confidence. When you decide to buy, focus on a reputable dealer who will take time to answer all your questions simply and directly, and make sure they are willing to give you a written guarantee of authenticity. Happy collecting!
Ganado Red Bronze Monumental Star Liana York Available Medicine Man Gallery
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Please visit us at Medicine Man Gallery to view other beautiful textiles and southwestern fine art. Permission to reproduce photos and paintings in this online catalog secured by Mark Sublette. All rights reserved. No portion of this online catalog may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from Mark Sublette, Medicine Man Gallery, Inc. |
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The Gift Bronze Susan Kliewer Jakes New Blanket
