Navajo weavings mirror the colors and textures of the Southwest

From big city auction houses to remote trading posts, collectors have been searching for textiles of the American Southwest for more than 100 years. Today these textiles, especially those woven by the Navajo, remain popular for their abstract design, stunning colors and superior workmanship. Originally intended as utilitarian items of clothing, these weavings are treasured as works of art as well as for their historical value.

The most highly collected and recognized form, the Navajo blanket, has shifted from outer garment wrapped around the shoulders to that of decoration on floors and walls. Hanging a traditional blanket vertically duplicates how it would have looked covering the doorway of a Navajo hogan.

Legend says Spider Woman, the powerful creative deity from the Underworld, taught the Navajo to weave. Historians believe weaving in the Southwest originated with the ancestors of the Pueblo people. They were already using looms when Spanish explorers arrived. Colonization of New Mexico beginning in 1598 initiated trade between the Spanish and the Pueblo. Increasingly oppressive Spanish rule sparked a deadly revolt in 1680. When the Spanish reconquered the territory in 1692 many Pueblos took refuge in the Navajo lands.

The Pueblos taught Navajo women loom weaving, a technical art that takes years of practice to learn. Having acquired sheep from the Pueblo and Spanish, the Navajo have traditionally used wool for their textiles. Finely woven Navajo blankets were famous for their ability to shed water. While Pueblo weaving has always been for Indian use, the Navajo traded their textiles with other Indians and Anglos.

Opening of the Santa Fe Trail in 1822 and acquisition of the territory by the United States in 1848 resulted in increased recognition of Navajo weaving. Walk in Beauty: The Navajo and Their Blankets by Anthony Berlant and Mary Hunt Kahlenberg (1977, Little Brown & Co.) states that in 1849, when Lt. James Simpson led the first official U.S. expedition into Navajo country, he noted in his journal that the Navajo people made what were “probably the best blankets in the world.”

While economic conditions and changing lifestyles of the Navajo people have affected the progression of their art form, demand for it grows. Auctioneers regularly schedule sales highlighting woven textiles within the greater category of American-Indian art.

The Cincinnati auction house Cowan’s made a big impact on the market in 2002 in selling a collection deaccessioned by the Western Reserve Historical Society. Among the items sold at that auction was a Classic Period Navajo child’s wearing blanket (46 by 31½ inches) that sold for $48,300. A Navajo Third Phase chief blanket (67 by 55 inches) sold for $26,450. Both textiles had once belonged to a U.S. Army cavalry officer who was stationed in the West in the late 1860s.

While museum-quality pieces from the 19th century like these are scarce, later weavings are readily available and more affordable to collectors and decorators.
“I think they are terrific decorating pieces. They don’t go out of style,” said Danica M. Farnand, Cowan’s American Indian Arts specialist. “If you have an Arts & Crafts or Prairie-style house, they’re perfect for that. There is a lot of work and craftsmanship that goes into them, and people understand and respect that. I think, in general, they are timeless pieces.”

Americans have long held an appreciation for Indian and art, which became widely accessible in the first half of the 20th century. “People tend to use the more contemporary pieces to decorate their homes,” said Farnand. “During the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s there was a lot of travel out West, and during that period people could bring these weavings home because they were easy to transport. So there are many blankets from that time frame, and people use them for decorating. People can decorate with the older pieces, but they tend to bring more money because earlier and rarer.”

Ron Munn of R.G. Munn Auction, Cloudcroft, N.M., who has been selling American-Indian textiles for 40 years, sees a constant demand for these pieces. “Looking back to the 1920s, the first heyday of the popularizing of Navajo textiles, wealthy people – industrialists, business owners and professionals – collected them. It was not uncommon to see a picture of a Victorian home that would have five or six Persian carpets on the floor and there were two or three Navajo rugs mixed in with them. People bought them for their aesthetic beauty as well as the fact that they are an important part of American culture,” said Munn.

While Classic period (1850-1875) and Transitional (1875-1890) weavings are the realm of serious collectors, nice 1920s-vintage rugs are still available. “The big difference is they’re not $400 or $500 apiece anymore,” said Munn, who finds it difficult to replace a weaving he sells for the price he paid. “If you sell a great piece for $25,000 and try to replace it, you can’t get one for less than $30,000. So you buy it and the price of that rug is now $35,000, not $25,000 anymore,” he said.

Munn said collectors evaluating a weaving look for the caliber of the weave, the visual impact of the design and the technical difficulty to create it. A good example is the Teec Nos Pos style developed by weavers from the Four Corners area where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona meet, said Munn. “Teec Nos Pos is a multicolored weaving. Almost all the design elements are outlined in a different color. The technical expertise to weave that rug is staggering. They are in great demand right now,” he said.

Another important factor in evaluating post-Classic period Navajo textiles is whether the weaving is done using native handspun wool, which is generally more desirable than a comparable piece woven with commercial machine-spun yarn.

“It took a Navajo three times as long to drop-spin the wool, dye it and prepare it than to go down to the local trading post to buy three skeins of commercial yarn,” said Munn. “There are a lot of 1950s weavings that are of commercial yarn, and that drastically affects the value (downward).” Munn emphasized he was not referring to those Classic Period Navajo blankets made of machine-spun yarn.

Following their surrender to Kit Carson in January 1864, more than 8,000 Navajo men, women and children were forced from their homeland and made to endure internment near Bosque Redondo, N.M. Deprived of their flocks, Navajo weavers were introduced to machine-spun yarn produced in Germantown (Philadelphia), Pa. Blankets made from these yarns are called Germantowns. Over the years the term Germantown has come to mean any three- or four-ply machine-spun yarns from any Eastern mill.

After signing a peace treaty, the Navajo were allowed to return to their homeland in 1868, but their way of life was forever changed.

Another factor in evaluating American Indian textiles is the color: natural wool, vegetal or factory-made aniline dyes, or a combination of these. Munn said tastes change in this regard. Currently buyers prefer a brighter palette. “Ten years ago the vegetal-dye weavings – Chinle, Wide Ruins and Crystal – were on the crest of a wave. Today that market is somewhat slow, even though it takes a weaver twice as long to make an all vegetal-dyed homespun rug,” said Munn.

The cryptic names that have been given to styles of Navaho weavings often denote the town or trading post where they originated. Examples are Crystal, N.M., and Ganado, Ariz. Weavings whose place of origin cannot be pinpointed are often identified by region, such as Western Reservation in Arizona.

Munn advises buyers that reproductions are being made on mechanical looms in Mexico. “In many cases if it’s well done, from the back of the auction room you cannot tell whether it’s Navajo or Mexican. There are also a great deal of textiles now being done with traditional Navajo designs in Pakistan and other foreign countries,” said Munn. His advice to newcomers is buy from knowledgeable dealers and auctioneers who guarantee what they sell.

He also recommends learning as much as possible about the many styles, weaving techniques and materials. “Part of the fun of collecting is the learning process. When another collector tells you, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t have passed on that – it was a good buy,’ all of a sudden you realize you had better learn more,” said Munn.