Don't buy a rug if it isn't authentic Navajo. You should instead work with a trusted dealer to ensure that you're purchasing authentic Navajo rugs. This video is essential viewing by both novice and seasoned collectors. You must be able to tell the difference between a Navajo rugs and Navajo blankets because the cost of each textile will vary depending on its weaving.
If there is a bundle of warps at the edge of each side, then it is unlikely that the rug is genuine. Very few Navajo rugs will have such bundles and even then there would be only two or three warp threads that would make up that bundle and there would be only a single warp thread next to that bundle. Most Navajo rugs have side cords as I described and virtually no Navajo rugs have warp thread fringe at both ends.
Banded Blankets made with simple stripes of contrasting color were descendents of the earliest Navajo weavings. A more complicated type of design was derived from Hispanic Saltillo serapes which featured brightly colored patterns of serrated diamond shapes. 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.
Weaving has always been a major part of the Navajo culture. While it is not entirely known where they learned to weave, they ended up becoming the most skilled out of all the Native Amerian tribes. The vivid geometric patterns on highly-durable fabrics were renown throughout the Southwest.
When Germantown wool from Pennsylvania was originally imported, it afforded the weavers a wonderful range of new colors to work with and this design wasperfect for the combining contrasting colors. This rug design looks almost Persian and perhaps least likea Navajo. It is a very busy and bold design with a wide border filled witha variety of motifs, especially a lightning path. It is a complex design andthe rugs are often large.
What makes Navajo textiles all the more breathtaking is how simple the tools are that the weavers would use to create them. The looms are simple, usually erected out-of-doors, under a tree branch. Patterns were (and still are) plotted in the weaver’s head - to execute a harmonious design requires expert artistic ability and multidimensional thinking. In terms of artisanship, all Navajo weavings are painstaking, manual endeavors. As is common even today, the weaver’s family raised the sheep; caring for the flock was a family affair. Early Navajo weavings were usually made from special wool from the Churro sheep breed - known for its long, silky fibers. Later, as the Navajo moved into making rugs, they incorporated other sheep varieties into their flocks.
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.