Authentic Vintage Navajo Wool Rug-New Mexico-c1935-1960-Very Good Condition

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Authentic Vintage Navajo Wool Rug-New Mexico-c1935-1960-Very Good Condition:
$950.00

43x67 inch Hand Spun and Hand Woven authentic Navajo Wool Rug c. 1935-1960. Purchased by my parents in the 1960s, in my presence, from a trading post in New Mexico. This wonderful rug boasts bright and contrasting colors of Red, Black, Grey and Beige in the classic diamond and triangular style of that time. The weave is heavy, making this a true Navajo rug, but was purchased new and it has never been used on the floor and was always stored out of sunlight. Appraised for $1,000.00 Below you will see the appraiser\'s report, including much is my informal analysis of your textile as of October 15,2014.

Length: 67 inches
Width: 43 inches
Textile type: Navajo
Textile description: Navajo Standard Rug c. 1960
Approximate date woven: 1935-1970
Fiber content: Wool weft, hand spun, Wool warp, hand spun
Dye sources: Aniline, Natural Wool Color
Dye migration status: No dye migration visible
Condition: Very good: used, some damage to cords, weavingintact

You have a Navajo rug woven in the mid 20th century, circa 1960. It does not fall into any particular regional style and hencereceives the pattern designation of Navajo Standard. It was woven inthe 1960\'s, toward the end of the time when Navajo weavers commonlyspun the yarn for their rugs. Today, at least 85% of Navajo rugs arewoven with commercially spun wool. This is the type of rug thatNavajo weavers have woven for over 100 years to keep the lights on,pay bills and provide extras for themselves and their families.

During the late 1950\'s and early 1960\'s, paving projects andgovernment programs like the War on Poverty allowed Navajo people totravel more easily and opened more trading options for them. Thistrend eventually to lead to the demise of the traditional trading postso your rug was purchased toward the end of that period as well. Asreservation based trading posts declined, off-reservation tradersestablished businesses that catered to tourists as well as to thespecial needs of the Native American community.

Your rug waswoven with wool that was hand carded and hand spun from sheep thatwere probably owned by the weaver and her family. At this time, thelives of many Navajo families still revolved around the cycle ofplanting crops and the raising of sheep, horses and cattle. Wool wassheared from the sheep in the spring of the year and then carded andspun during long winter evenings as the Navajo Creation Story and theCoyote Stories were told, integrating spinning and weaving tightlyinto Navajo life.

The central panel of the rug is a series ofseven bands of triangles and diamonds. The panel is ringed by plainwhite and black borders and terminal bands of red at each end. Thebands are asymmetric and differ idiosyncratically in ways that suggestthat weaver had the the rug folded over the loom to accommodate theheight of the weaving and couldn\'t see both ends. It\'s possible thatshe started from one end, turned the piece over and worked toward thesection that she\'d already finished and matched the patternimperfectly. This method of working both ends of the textile toward afinish in the middle of the piece goes back into blanket weaving. This finishing method, while quite difficult to do, also has theadvantage of moving any irregularities in thickness at the finishingpoint into a portion of the rug where a trader would be less likely tofind them. It would be difficult if not impossible to tell whetherthat technique was used without a physical examination.

Onearea of asymmetric design, however, is certainly the weaver\'sinterpretation of the Spirit Line or Weaver;s Pathway. This featureis seen as a white line leading out of a black bordered triangle atone end of the rug. There are probably as many interpretations of themeaning of this feature as there are weavers who use it and it appearsin some form in about half of all contemporary rugs. Some weavers saythat is a way for good things to move into and out of the rug, otherssay that it is a release for their creativity and still others saythat it is the path from one rug to the next one. Almost everyinterpretation has at it\'s core the need for the weaver to honor andacknowledge the extremely close relationship that she has with a pieceof weaving.

The rug appears to be in good condition with somelight soiling.

This concludes my report, based on a photographic inspection ofthe textile. This information is provided for informal estimationpurposes only.

Best regards,

Mary Walker
Weaving in Beauty Our goal is great customer service and we will work with you on any problem or discrepancy that you might have. Rest assured we will offer your money back per the 14 day money back guarantee if you are not satisfied with your purchase. No restocking fees. Simply contact us through email describing your issue and pay the return shipping. Expect a refund after we receive the item and have processed the return. We are happy to answer any questions that you may have within the limits of our knowledge. We appreciate your business and look forward to working with you in the future!