navajo rugs native american persian rug by mary dale - two grey hills

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The Navajo are one of the largest recognized Native American tribes within the United States. Around 500 years ago, they made their home the American Southwest. There, they developed a vibrant culture, complete with its own language, belief system, and lifestyle. One of their most significant impressions on modern society has been their rugs. Weaving has always been a major part of the Navajo culture. While it is not entirely known where they learned to weave, they ended up becoming the most skilled out of all the Native Amerian tribes. The vivid geometric patterns on highly-durable fabrics were renown throughout the Southwest.

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The one at the bottom was woven from Working with the Wool by Noel Bennett, Tiana Bighorse. Noel lived and taught weaving in Gallup on Thursday nights when you lived in Church Rock. It doesn’t fit any regional description. This is a banded rugs and it would be best to call the design a Chinle (or an Eyedazzler) depending on which eye is being dazzled.

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Don't buy a rug if it isn't authentic Navajo. You should instead work with a trusted dealer to ensure that you're purchasing authentic Navajo rugs. This video is essential viewing by both novice and seasoned collectors. You must be able to tell the difference between a Navajo rugs and Navajo blankets because the cost of each textile will vary depending on its weaving.

navajo rugs native american persian rug by mary dale - two grey hills
navajo blankets and rugs

The Third Phase type, between 1860 and 1880, saw the addition of stepped or serrated diamonds of color to the center and ends of the wide stripes. In weavings of the Fourth Phase, made from 1870 through the early 1900s, diamond motifs became larger and more elaborate, often overtaking the stripes as primary design elements. Revivals of chief’s blankets-usually made as rugs-have been popular since the 1950s. A watershed in Navajo weaving came in the 1860s with the incarceration of about 8000 men, women and children at Bosque Redondo reservation in eastern New Mexico.

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The main colors are browns, olives, maroons, and mustardsaccented with a color such as white, red, or black. This rug originates from the Wide Ruins, Pine Springs, Burntwater, and Standing Rock region of the Navajo Nation. Early Crystalsused aniline dyes and were richly designed. They were bordered rugs with acentral design woven of natural colors, maybe with a touch of red. After themid-1940s, the borderless, vegetal-dyed designs came into being. The difference between the Crystal and the Wide Ruins and Chinle banded design rugs is that bthebands in the Crystal are bordered horizontally by wavy lines which are produced by alternating 2 or 3 different colors of weft stands (side to side foundation cords). Also, the vegetal dyes allow for more extensive use of the natural wool colors.

native american rugs traditional patterns
where to get authentic native american rugs
where to get authentic native american rugs

Juan Lorenzo Hubbell was, by most accounts, the leading trader of the early period in rug-making, and owned several trading posts around the Reservation. Hubbell’s home and base of operation were at Ganado, Arizona about 50 miles south of Canyon de Chelly. His tastes ran to Classic 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.

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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 specific 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.

what native american tribes wove rugs?
Just send us an email with your order number and we’ll send you instructions.  We will give you a full refund within the first 60 days after your order ships out.  After that, we have to charge a 25% restocking fee. You are responsible for return shipping fees unless you are swapping for a different design or size.
As soon as your order ships, you will receive an email with tracking info and then following emails with shipping updates.
Yes! We can ship anywhere in the world. Please send us an email with your address before placing an order outside of the US and Canada though. We need to partially charge you for shipping when you place your order.
We find rug pads are not necessary to protect your flooring. However, some people choose to use rug pads to prevent their rug from sliding around.
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All of our rugs are made to order and go through a rigorous inspection process. You can typically expect your rug to be shipped 2 weeks from when you make your purchase.