Blanket or Rug

Textiles

c. 1900

Navajo (Diné)
Ganado area, Arizona, United States

This blanket or rug displays many of the characteristics of Navajo weaving made at the turn of the previous century. During this period, Navajo artists were working in an increasingly commercial environment, with many of their weavings destined for non-Indian buyers. Weavers also could sell their work through traders who would make suggestions on colors and designs in response to market trends. The bold rows of linked crosses are formed using only two colors against a variegated gray background—a limited palete that is a striking departure from the Navajo weavers’ earlier vibrant “Eye Dazzler” blankets. The unusually large size of this textile suggests that it was woven for a specific purpose or location.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Textiles

Culture: Navajo (Diné)
Title: Blanket or Rug
Origin: Arizona
Date: Made 1895–1905
Medium: Wool, dovetailed tapestry weave; twined edges and ends
Dimensions: 308 × 157.5 cm (121 1/4 × 62 in.) Warp repeat: 47-48.4 cm (18 1/2-19 in.) Weft: point repeat
Credit Line: Gift of Joseph W. Fell
Reference Number: 1999.581
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/153685/manifest.json

Judith A. Barter. Window on the West: Chicago and the Art of the New Frontier 1890–1940 (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago; New York and Manchester, Vt.: Hudson Hills Press, 2003), p. 135, fig. 41.

The Art Institute of Chicago, American Arts, Department, Gallery 272, Window on the West, June 10–October 16, 2003
The Art Institute of Chicago, Gallery 136, Department of African and Amerindian Art, June 7, 2014- December 16, 2014

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.