ANTIQUE NAVAJO RUG Native American Big GANADO Rare Old HUBBELL Wool Blanket 6 FT

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ANTIQUE NAVAJO RUG Native American Big GANADO Rare Old HUBBELL Wool Blanket 6 FT:
$480.00

A fantastic early Classic NAVAJO RUG. From the late 1800\'s, this is a very rare, authentic antique Navajo textile.Now about this awesome large rug. The cream and the dark chocolate brown that you see, that is natural churro wool. This was the handiwork of a very experienced weaver, I can tell by the fine outlines around the storm lightning bolts in each of the 4 corners. This is a really unique piece, because it contains both elements from J. B. Moore\'s influence (he ran the old Crystal Trading Post in Arizona) as well as from Don Lorenzo Hubbell. We also see the natural varigated sheep\'s wool in the center of the design, brown and cream, and that\'s Moore\'s influence, to kept the colors natural like the Navajo\'s ancestors did.This one contains red Cochineal wool, which makes it more valuable. The hand carded wool was often brought for hundreds of miles along old West trails by the Mexicans who would trade with the tribes for food and staples. Then the cowboys found out about these blankets, and their demand soared. This blanket is tightly woven and thick like a mat.
Thus you see the red dyed wool section, mixed in with the natural sheep colors of cream and dark chocolate brown (the tribes had cream and dark brown sheep then). This has little wear or pile so it was most likely used only on special occasions, like for a tribal pow wow or rodeo, then tucked away in a hope chest, or hung on the wall for display. By now, this is an iconic piece of Old West history, a relic of Western horse culture. It could have also been used as a wearing blanket, as it is pliable, and relatively soft. It\'s just got that super old distressed look to it, which is prized by collectors, basically the older it is, the more valuable.This is quite large, measuring 6 feet long! Exact dimensions are 72 inches by 42 inches. Top shelf quality, heavy and durable. It\'s lasted over 100 years, and is now highly prized by collectors. There is some fraying in one corner which you can see in the photos, but this is normal for an authentic antique Navajo textile. It is relatively clean and no major issues or anything to detract from it\'s original form (oh sure some minor holes, a few small stains and blemishes, but this is to be expected for a rug of this age). Collectors prefer them like this, untouched, as is, not professionally fixed up to look new or anything. There is character and value in the original state of this rug. The Navajo themselves were the first to use these as rugs. Today they make great wall hangings, they add warmth and an Old West ranch style to any room.
Because you know, as cowboy and Frontier life began to decline, these were snapped up into the hands of private collectors, those who appreciate their handsome, timeless look. This particular one took an expert weaver to make, it was a source of pride and joy to it\'s owner.A bit about how I got into selling these beauties. On dad\'s side, our family established a trading post in Arizona in the late 1800\'s in Tuba City. (See last photo that dad took of what remains of that trading post). It\'s significant because the trading post was near the Navajo Reservation and tribal weavers would come into the trading post and trade rugs for food.Mom\'s side of the family is just as interesting, she descends from an early settler of the Wild West, Jacob Hamblin. In his book \"My Life with the Indians,\" he details how he rode from Utah to Arizona on horseback, bringing good carded wool to the Navajos to help improve their weavings. This was in the 1860\'s to 1880\'s, so he was there before Don Lorenzo Hubbell and J.B. Moore, although history hasn\'t quite picked up on all his contributions. Hamblin negotiated the first peace treaty between the Navajo and the Ute, warning them that if they didn\'t band together, calvary would take even more of their land.Personally, I started selling Native American art in 1973, and I\'m part Native American, so that\'s a lot of experience and knowledge (44 years worth). First joined as terriatofc in 1996 (they had a staff of 18 people and no customer support of any kind!). When I saw that was here to stay, I moved my entire company, Terri\'s Book\'s, to this account, and here I am, 21 years later.Since I get a chance to feel and touch this before you do, I can tell you, as far as Navajo rugs go, this one is a tad softer than usual. That\'s because they used good Churro sheep wool. The Mexicans were introduced to Churro wool from the Spanish, who brought better Churra sheep. Those tribes introduced the Churro sheep to the Navajo, in the 16th Century during the Spanish Conquest. I can tell it\'s Churro because of the softness, Churro wool has a softer inner layer which the Dine preferred to use when they could get it. And a rug made with Churro wool is more valuable. Making this one primo rug. And it lays flat, so that\'s also a plus.Now as for Don Hubbell. Don was the name given to him by the Mexicans, it was a term of respect, because he was an honorable trader, and he did a lot for the tribes. I can see his influence in this rug, he encourage the tribes to use borders, and this one has 2 borders. Hubbell\'s headquarters were in Ganado, Arizona, so we can tell rugs that came from that area by their designs. This is an early one, 1880\'s. Hubbell favored primitive styles, and old traditional designs that weren\'t too intricate or busy. By 1900\'s we would see the rugs whose weavers he influenced with triple borders, so the single border on this one indicates an earlier (and more valuable) piece.This rug is in classic colors that Hubbell preferred: Cream, dark brown, natural undyed brown grey. He also encouraged geometric shapes. Since this is more than 100 years old, it is very valuable. If you were to locate something like this in a gallery it\'d go for about $2,000 and up. If you look at the close up photo, you can see the lazy lines in the weaving. The selvage edge is a bit harder to spot in the photos because it blends into the dark chocolate brown border, but it\'s there, though broken in places. This rug once had tassels, they\'re long gone. As for the style of this one, I personally am in love with this piece. The colors are very sophisticated, for those of you who know that sometimes in design, less is more. The brown and cream colors look beautiful on hard wood floors. It would look fabulous hung as a wall weaving above a couch or in a library, study, man cave or artifact room. It\'s a conversation piece, something you can proudly display and show to guests. It will always continue to appreciate in value, it\'s a great investment.I love this one because the color palette is so sophisticated. Beautiful muted desert hues, something that will put your soul at peace every time you see it. The lightning bolts and the center remind me of a very early Crystal Storm design or motif. Honestly, this is just priceless, I will miss it for sure. When you open it and unfold it, and find that it is an authentic Navajo antique, it is super impressive when you stop to think how many countless hours it took to make a piece like this by hand.

For those of you still reading, here\'s a bit more about Hubbell: John Lorenzo Hubbell gradually came to be addressed as \"Don\", a Spanish term of respect. He was born in Parajito, San Miguel County, New Mexico. He died in Ganado, Arizona.

He spent his early years as a Spanish interpreter for the U.S. Army.

He started a trading post in 1878 that became very successful financially. He eventually created an empire of 30 such trading posts in Arizona, New Mexico, and California.

He helped many Navajos become economically self-sufficient by showing them the patterns of blankets most likely to sell for a profit. He was well respected in the Navajo community for his fair dealings with them.

His 1878 trading post, now known as the Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site, still stands on the Navajo reservation, and is a National Historic Landmark. Another trading post, purchased by Hubbell in Winslow, Arizona in 1921, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Don is said to be the only Caucasian buried on Navajo land.

Don\'t miss out on this, we are selling a few rugs from our collection this month and this is the oldest (and most valuable) Ganado rug we have. It\'s a great old Navajo rug (circa 1883) and we hope you take care of it. These old Navajo rugs add warmth to any room and they last for eons. This is a heavy piece, weighs several pounds, it\'s a statement rug, a textile with decades of character. Highly collectible, this will always retain it\'s value, it\'s heirloom quality, a veritable treasure.

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And lastly, a bit more about the tribe that made this rug. Traditional Navajo families believe that the Holy People who created the Navajo were very powerful deities.

The Navajo ancestors traveled on the “sun’s rays” and descended into the world on the “lightning bolts” which you see in this rug. So the theme is the tribe\'s early creation. It was Changing Woman who taught the Navajo how to live in “harmony,” but it was Spider Woman who gave them secrets to find their way in this world.

To the traditional Navajo weaver, Spider Woman provided the framework to live and weave beautiful things like this large textile – the ability to create beauty from nature is part of the essence of being Navajo.

Women are the weavers in traditional Navajo society. Although this cultural value is fading somewhat today with a few young men taking up the challenge, women still dominate the area of weaving.

The designs in Navajo weavings have always been a personal expression of the weaver. However, we can make some educated guesses based upon historical research and interviews with Navajo elders.