southwestern native american rugs 8x10

area rug native american

In an effort to subdue and “domesticate” the Indians, the US Army slaughtered the Navajo’s sheep and destroyed their crops and homes. The government allowed weaving to continue during the internment by replacing the Navajo’s home-grown wool with factory-made yarns from Europe and the eastern United States. 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.

native american rugs free catalogs —

Wool is the main material used for making Navajo rugs. There are a few genuine Navajo rugs which are made with synthetic materials, such as acrylic. It could be interpreted as a Navajo woman creating her own inexpensive knockoff if you come across one. In this case, it doesn't matter if the object is real or fake. While imitations might use wool, poor imitations made from Mexico use polyester. Some imitations from India and Pakistan are made with a mixture of wool, acrylic or polyester. Another author stated that it is not possible to tell if the rug is woolen by sniffing it. Modern Navajo rugs have very little lanolin in them. It doesn't even smell.

southwestern native american rugs 8x10

ralph lauren native american rugs

Even the concept of the border itself, usually in two or three layers with at least one in a geometric pattern, is probably traceable to oriental carpet design. Though introduced in the regional around Crystal, these motifs and ideas quickly spread to other areas of the Reservation and are found on many rugs woven throughout the past century. Designs his weavers developed before 1911 were still being made, virtually unchanged, as late as the 1950s. These oriental-influenced patterns are now known as Early Crystal rugs. Those made at the beginning of the century typically featured aniline red with natural whites, browns and greys, while rugs made from the 1920s on tended to rely even more heavily on a wide range of natural wool colors.

old native american indian rugs

old native american indian rugs

A blanket like the one worn by the chief of Navajo tells the story about Native American spirituality, survival struggle and community. This blanket is also known as a serapis and was made in the 1865 Indian internment. It is richly woven in reds, and as striking as its bordered design. Red was difficult to find in those days, especially among Native Americans. The Native Americans found a way to get around this problem by tearing apart machine-made rugs. They then re-weaved the thread into their own designs. This design, however, is very rare. It shows that the outside world is increasingly influencing not just Navajo culture but also their art. Notice the borders that are only part of the blanket's four corners. Inspired by exotic Oriental rug designs, bordered textiles were very popular in the '60s. This suggests that weavers have copied these rugs from photographs, though it is more likely they had already seen them. However, bordering was not in harmony with Native Americans' inheritance of design.

bright native american rugs

These early weavings made before the 1870s are very rare, bringing tens of thousands of dollars-or more-from collectors and museums. The so-called Chief’s Blanket is a specific style of manta that went through a distinct design evolution. First Phase blankets were made from about 1800 to 1850 and consisted simply of brown (or blue) and white stripes with the top, bottom and center stripes usually being wider than the others. Second Phase blankets included small red rectangles at the center and ends of the darker stripes and were made about 1840 to 1870.

bright native american rugs
mexican native american rugs
mexican native american rugs

The Burntwater rugs display a combination of earth tones andpastels. Colors such as brown, sienna, mustard, and rust are accented with pale colors such as rose, green, blue,white, and lilac. The designs can use geometric spirals, head-to-head triangles, stepped diagonals,and multiple borders. The Burntwater style is newer and is basically an expansionof the traditional TwoGrey Hillsdesigns by weavers in the Wide Ruins/Burntwater area south of Gando. The second type of rug for Navajo rug ID are the 3 styles of banded rugs--Chinle, Wide Ruins, and Crystal.

buy native american rugs

Genuine rugs are the best way to be sure they are authentic. You can also visit the Indian Arts and Crafts Board website for more information on rugs and related artifacts. Genuine rugs come with the correct certification stamp so that you can be certain about their origin.

buy native american rugs

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, please let us know within 3 days from when you placed your order.
As soon as your order ships, you will receive an email with tracking info and then following emails with shipping updates.
We accept all major credit or debit cards. You can also pay with your PayPal account.
Just send us an email with your order number and we’ll send you instructions.  We will give you a full refund within the first 60 days after your order ships out.  After that, we have to charge a 25% restocking fee. You are responsible for return shipping fees unless you are swapping for a different design or size.
Yes! We can ship anywhere in the world. Please send us an email with your address before placing an order outside of the US and Canada though. We need to partially charge you for shipping when you place your order.
All of our rugs are made to order and go through a rigorous inspection process. You can typically expect your rug to be shipped 2 weeks from when you make your purchase.
We find rug pads are not necessary to protect your flooring. However, some people choose to use rug pads to prevent their rug from sliding around.