1930s Navajo Nubby Wool Indian Chief Blanket
1950's Navajo Nubby Wool Indian Chief Blanket
Value:
This is one of those items you just do not pass up for a few dollars as they can be worth anywhere from $24.00-1.8 million dollars! You just never know until you get it home for closer inspection.
This one is nubby wool with very bright shades of pink, green, and red. It has the usual whirly symbols only they are NOT intertwined, which makes this particular piece highly unusual. The diamond center is indicative of the "Spider Woman" designs and the weave runs both verticle (on the ends) and horizontal (through the center).
The green and pink colors tell us this blanket dates later than the 1700s because these colors were not introduced until the 1800s when red synthetic dyes became available as opposed to crushing beetles.
The condition of the overall blanket and the hand-tied loops of the fringe date it much later...1930s. The placement of the horse motifs suggest it could possibly be a horse blanket, however, it would have to be a very skinny horse to be able to see the horse heads on both sides and it would look pretty silly as a rug (though, it could be used as one). I have concluded it to be a chief blanket.
All Navajo blankets have a side selvage cord to make the weave straight and this blanket has a selvage cord and in this case, it is 1" wide and raised up from the rest of the blanket, it also is self-dyed, so it is harder to see.
Pendleton wool blankets mass-produced Navajo blankets sometime in the 1900s-today, but this one, in particular, is very very thick and I doubt they would use such high-quality yarns and dyes for a mass-produced product that sells for a few hundred dollars today and I highly doubt they would have used unfinished whirlies if any at all.
Keep in mind as well, the spacing and scarcity of the fringe, most blankets have no fringe at all or thick short fringe. The fringe is very unique for a blanket such as this and it could date it much earlier than 1930. The condition of the fringe is immaculate and I would think if this were in fact, earlier
than 1950s, it must have been stored in a dark place and never touched all those years. 95% of authentic Navajo rugs have no fringe, (though small "samplers" from the 18002 DID indeed have fringe like this blanket, on both ends)... and that leaves us a very small 5% margin that this rug is authentic Navajo. This rug has a "gallop throw" fringe and this is similar to many fringes out of Mexico, even today. The only problem is, this rug has fringe on both ends and most, I say, most meaning 99.5% of Navajo rugs with gallop throw fringe only have fringe on ONE end. And so, the process of elimination unfolds...we have less than 1% chance that this rug is authentic.
My educated guess leads me to believe this is an authentic antique Mexican blanket. Now to determine the exact type and the value...
I was wrong, there is nothing like this from Mexico, only the fringe. Everything points to Navajo except the fringe. This could take weeks to determine, in the meantime, if you have any suggestions please feel free to comment.
UPDATE: I have found information on the design, it is from the 1800s, could it be possible that this blanket is in deed that old? 1800 blanket samples which are small squares, did indeed come with fringe on both ends like this blanket. Is it really possible we have a less than 1% chance of identifying this as an authentic 1800s blanket? I doubt it, always the skeptic...I will keep digging.
There is a long space in the center of the diamond from top to bottom that is slightly parting and looks as if it was crafted like so. Upon quick glance at this unique crack, if you are just looking at one spot it could be mistaken for a "Spider Woman" hole.
It is most definitely hand looped and could well have been a reproduction by an artist...we really may never know since the horse motifs and whirly are so very unusual and impossible to find the exact information about without contacting the Tribe. Of course, if one sold a Navajo rug and it turned out to be worth several thousand dollars, I would think it to be best to donate a small 10% of the sale back to the tribe for good vibes, a thank you, and a tax write off, of course.
This blanket measures: 33" wide x 78" long.
Conclusion: It is too close to call! Here are a few scenarios...
1. It is a copycat by Pendleton.
2. It is original 1800s and someone added the fringe later.
3. A Great Grandmother or Grandmother decided to take a try at weaving it herself and copied an old rug.
4. A swindler copied an old rug.
5. A local artisan crafted it on her loom using vintage yarn and designs.
6. It is indeed authentic 1800s with original (less than 1% chance) fringe.
7. It is nothing more than a $50.00 rug.
The bottom line, I can not put a price on this over $100.00 without absolute certainty, especially since I found another blanket with the same design motifs also from the 1800c and I found two online with half whirlies and lightning bolts without the v....AND in both instances, the wool is nubby exactly like this one and there is NO fringe on either one.
Another clue to it's age is the horse motif, look closely and you will see, the horse is wearing a rope bridle or a horsehair bridle which would have been used by the Native Americans in the 1800s.
Personally, I think it is worth AT least; $3000.00.
It is indeed rare and it must be appraised by a person of knowledge in this particular textile field. I will search online and this can take weeks, it sometimes takes auction houses weeks to months to get back to you. Well, this has been fun and interesting and educating, I hope it made sense to you so far!
Comments
Post a Comment