Continuous warp, lazy lines and selvage lines are three of the best ways to help identify an authentic Navajo rug. The price of the rug should also be considered. Be wary of Navajo rugs priced at $200 or less, as this can be a clear indicator of a fake. Almost all Navajo rugs are made from wool threads, which appear rougher in texture than cotton or linen. Fringe and ridges along the edge of the rug typically indicate a fake. Warp threads that have been cut and run back into the rug will create ridges on the ends. Almost all Navajo rugs are made without fringe.
Single Saddle Blankets were roughly 30″ square, and Double Saddle Blankets were of similar width, but about twice and long and were doubled over when in use to provide extra padding. Early saddle blankets often were woven in simple striped patterns, and double saddle blankets now are sometimes difficult to distinguish from Transitional wearing blankets.
The best way to identify a genuine Navajo rug is to look for the warp and selvage lines. These lines are often continuous, although the weaver can vary. Fake rugs can be harder to spot, particularly if they are priced at less than $200. The warp threads in a fake rug will also have ridges on the end since they are made of wool rather than cotton.
Pendleton Woolen Mills is Pendleton's only remaining pioneer mill for blankets. They also sell to other non-Indians, but almost half of their annual output goes to Indians. Navajo rugs start at $100 for a smaller one and can go up to several thousands for a larger, more old-fashioned one. As you can see, the young lady seated behind Jane Hyden is wearing a Navajo a Biil (pronounced “beel”) and also known as a Rug Dress.
The 4 rectangles,one in each corner of the rug, represent the homes of the four winds or thefour sacred mountains of the Navajo world. Zigzag lightning lines connect thesecorners with the center. Colors of the original storm rugs were usually red, black,and white on a natural gray or red background. Today you will find naturalbrowns and vegetal dye colors. There will usually be a dark border which can be embellishedon one side with ‘teeth.’ Clouds, water beetles, arrows, feathers, andgeometric designs are throughout. A pictorial usuallyfeatures items in the daily life of a weaver. There can be landscapes with animals, plants, etc., even tractors. If there are borders, they will usually be dark.
Now known as Gallup Throws, these inexpensive items were a favorite, easy to transport souvenir among visitors to the southwest. Pictorial and geometric “rugs,” too small for use on the floor and typically made with commercially spun and dyed yarns, remain a staple of the souvenir trade to this day. Weaving techniques in the Rug Period have primarily been limited to the standard tapestry weave which is identical on both sides. (This term should not be confused with “tapestry rugs” from Two Grey Hills.) Nevertheless, some weavers still practice the more difficult twill weaves, including rare two-faced weavings which have a different twill pattern on each side. In the 1960s, weavers in the area of Coal Mine Mesa in Arizona popularized an unusual technique called Raised Outline in which the joints between color areas are thicker and appear to rise above the surface of the weaving.
After the Navajo returned to their homelands in 1868, the US government continued to provide commercial yarns as part of their “annuity” support for the Navajo people. In the 1870s, licensed Indian Traders began supplying weavers with factory-made yarns brightly colored with aniline (chemical) dyes. Blankets made of these colorful yarns are generically called Germantown weavings after the town in Pennsylvania where much of the yarn was produced. The Navajo returned from Bosque Redondo to a very different world; one increasingly tied to the larger Anglo-American economy and culture.