The impetus behind this trend came primarily from Anglo collectors, traders, and government agencies that had a sincere desire to upgrade the quality of Navajo weaving and return to traditional, pre-rug patterns. The resulting rugs were not literal copies of older pieces, but were creative variations on banded designs using a wide palette of newly developed vegetal dye colors made from indigenous plants, as well as new, subtly colored chemical dyes. Mary Cabot Wheelwright, founder of the Wheelwright Museum in Santa Fe, probably started the “vegetal revival” by providing weavers around Chinle, Arizona with the new dyes and sketches of old weavings.
Juan Lorenzo Hubbell was, by most accounts, the leading trader of the early period in rug-making, and owned several trading posts around the Reservation. Hubbell’s home and base of operation were at Ganado, Arizona about 50 miles south of Canyon de Chelly. His tastes ran to Classic Period weavings and many of the early rugs made by Ganado area weavers were close enough in appearance to classic mantas and serapes to have earned the generic name, Hubbell Revival rugs. Hubbell guided his weavers by displaying paintings of rug patterns he favored. Many of these paintings can still be seen at the original trading post, now preserved and operated as a National Historic Site.
It will be difficult for you to compare a Navajo Navajo rugs with one from a modern factory. If you are interested in a Navajo rugs, you can be sure to grab a piece that is richly crafted and has a long history. My team is here to share all the relevant information we have about carpets and rugs. Rug wants to be the one-stop shop for all things rug and carpet related. Rug is committed to providing information and facts that help you make the best decisions about which rug to buy and how to use it. Medicine Man Gallery specializes Navajo rugs & blankets. This includes early Classic Navajo Blankets as well as Chiefs Blankets and Transitional Blankets. We also have Navajo weavings from Ganado and Two Grey Hills. Four periods can be classified into Navajo rugs or blankets: Classic Period 1650-1868, Late Classic Period 1865-1880 and Transitional Period 1895, Rug Period 1895-Present.
Rugs woven in the Ukraine will be good reproductions of Navajo rug designs. The sides selvages have bundled warps and the ends will be nicely hand serged. These rugs are really flatwoven rugs with southwestern or Navajo style designs. Unfortunately they are often sold as the genuine article in Indian arts stores.
Weavers frequently outlined the small serrated patterns with a single yarn of contrasting color to heighten the visual complexity and impact. This patterning technique became known as the Eyedazzler and continues to be popular to the present day. Both the banded and diamond pattern homespun blankets of the late 19th century are generically known as Transitional Blankets because they signaled the end of Navajo blanket production and ushered in the era of the Navajo rug. By the 1890s, the internal demand for Navajo weaving was almost non-existent. To make matters worse a widespread financial panic seized the US economy in 1893, depressing commodity prices for the raw wool that had come to replace weavings as the Navajo’s primary trade item.
It should be noted, however, that many rugs produced throughout the century did not conform to a particular regional style and are now difficult to assign to a specific trading post. In recent years as weavers have become more mobile and independent of local trading posts, they often choose to weave patterns originated outside of their area. Many also combine motifs and characteristics from several different regions. As a result, the regional style names are now mostly used to identify common pattern types without necessarily referring to the exact place of origin of a specific weaving. Juan Lorenzo Hubbell was, by most accounts, the leading trader of the early period in rug-making, and owned several trading posts around the Reservation.
The vibrant colors in the Navajo rugs' Navajo rugs tend to be naturally dyed or colored with vegetable dyes. These colors won't fade or wash out, and they last much longer than you would expect. They can last for years if you take care of them by cleaning them properly and keeping them in enough sunlight. There are actually four types Navajo rugs, which are extremely popular with people all over the globe. They are Ganado; Two Grey Hills; Klagetoh; and Burntwater. These categories are based on the design differences. There are two types of Ganado: Klagetoh and one that have simpler designs than the other.