Authentic Native American Style Area Rug

This is a banded carpet. It would be called either an Eyedazzler or a Chinle depending on who is dazzled. Thank you for your wonderful website. It is very helpful. Our family lived around Church Rock in the late 70s. My parents bought a few rugs near "Legacy Park" as well as a few rugs from a Navajo family that weaved and lived in a hut. I can remember the mutton stew as well as the fry bread. I can't recall their names. Your help would be greatly appreciated if you could identify the type and make of the rugs.

Zapotec and other Mexican knock-offs often have wide end borders and end cords that are added after the rug is woven. The warp ends will be buried along side the adjacent cut warp ends as described previously. It should be noted that many knock-offs, regardless of origin, use designs taken directly from photos in books. The Zapotec are the #1 makers of counterfeit Navajo rugs. In Teotitlan de Valle (Zapotec rugs) much of their entire industry is devoted to making fakes and knock-offs. They make the hightest number and most convincing fakes.

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. 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 often combine vegetal and aniline colors in shades of brown, yellow, and terra cotta with natural greys and whites.

These blankets were highly prized trade items for tribes that didn't have their own weaving traditions. Even back then, Navajo blankets weren't affordable, so it was difficult for tribe members to afford one. Plains cultures valued Navajo blankets, especially for their warmth and comfort. One way to identify a man riding on horseback wearing one these weavings is by the design of his blanket, before his features become visible. The Navajo tradition of weaving blankets was that they were worn by Navajo for approximately 50 years. The advent of mechanical weaving technologies and the availability of affordable blankets, such as those manufactured by Pendleton Woolen Mills, marked the end to the era.