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Native American Design Area Rugs

Are you attracted to the beauty and craftsmanship of Navajo rugs but confused by all the terminology being thrown around in the galleries? Here’s a brief history of Navajo weaving that will help you sort out the most common terms, and give you a head start when you venture out to shop for these fascinating examples of Native American art. The Navajo (Dine [dih-NEH] in their own language) are Athabascan-speaking people who migrated to the Southwest from Canada in about the 15th century. Navajo women learned weaving in the mid-1600s from their Pueblo Indian neighbors who had been growing and weaving cotton since about 800 AD. Spanish settlers had brought their Churro sheep to the region in the early 1600s and introduced the Navajo to wool.

If you need help identifying a textile, I offer that service at $20-50 per item. Please click here to send information about the textile that you’d like to know more about. The weaver would probably have called with an Eyedazzler. You may also find some who would call it a squash blossom. The banded rug on the top doesn’t really fit into any particular regional style. Some people might call it a saddle blanket or chief blanket design. The one on the bottom is woven from a book called Working with the Wool by Noel Bennett and Tiana Bighorse. Noel lived in Gallup when you lived in Church Rock and she taught weaving at the library on Thursday nights, I think. It doesn’t fit any regional description.

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Dr. J. Mark Sublette explains the proper care of authentic Navajo rugs. This video is a must see for anyone interested in authentic Navajo rugs. Dr. J. Mark Sublette breaks down the pitfalls and condenses more than 25 years' experience into one tutorial. This video was made by Medicine Man Gallery CEO, Dr. J. Mark Sublette explains how professional art dealer can buy authentic Navajo rugs. This video is for everyone, no matter if this is your first rug purchase or you have been collecting for many years. The Navajo Chiefs blanket is probably the most popular of all Navajo style blankets. Native American artist Dr. J. Mark Sublette explains everything you need to know about authentic Navajo Chief’s Blankets.

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With them being highly popular today, there are plenty to choose from, no matter what your budget. Enjoy these unique and highly-prized rugs just as others have over the course of their 500-year existence. If there is a bundle of warps at the edge of each side, then it is unlikely that the rug is genuine. Very few Navajo rugs will have such bundles and even then there would be only two or three warp threads that would make up that bundle and there would be only a single warp thread next to that bundle. Most Navajo rugs have side cords as I described and virtually no Navajo rugs have warp thread fringe at both ends.

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Hand-spun wool Navajo Rugs will be more expensive than those made in mass production. The wool is more dense and smoother. Tapestries are rugs that have 80 or more threads per inch. A well-made rug should have straight edges and a balanced pattern. As imperfections are added by some weavers, you will notice that the rug isn't uniform. Prices for Navajo rugs depend on the size and provenance of the rug. A small rug will cost you around $100. An older rug that is larger can cost up to $41,600. Large rugs can take between two and three years to weave. The price of antique rugs is usually higher than the cost of contemporary rugs. In fact, Navajo rugs will become more expensive as their provenance increases.

Native American Design Area Rugs

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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. In an effort to subdue and “domesticate” the Indians, the US Army slaughtered the Navajo’s sheep and destroyed their crops and homes. The government allowed weaving to continue during the internment by replacing the Navajo’s home-grown wool with factory-made yarns from Europe and the eastern United States.

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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.