American Indian Rugs

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Many Navajo rugs have what Indian artists dealers call "lazylines." It is an insensitive and insulting term. I hope it will be replaced with the "Section Line." Section line lines are a break or diagonal joint in the weave that allows a weaver to work on a specific section of the rug and not have to reach the whole rug. She weaves one piece, then she moves on to weave another. This creates a diagonal section line. Not all Navajo rugs feature section lines. The Mexican imitation Navajo rugs' end borders are usually wider than those of a genuine Navajo rug. Side borders are also often wider. If the fringe at the ends is an extension of the warps then the rug is not authentic Navajo.

The best way to find out if the rug has been resold is to ask the seller. If it is from before the 1950s, ask the merchant about the weaver. It is no secret that intricate designs are more difficult than others. It doesn't matter how tight the weaving is. Learn more about the Navajo rugs to understand why their price is so high. What materials are used to make Navajo rugs from? In the mid-19th Century, weavers relied on three ply yarn which was known as Saxony. Saxony means high-quality, silky and naturally colored years. They are better than artificial dyes when it is natural dyes.

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Starting in the 1940s, Sally and William Lippincott, owners of the trading post at Wide Ruins, Arizona worked with the weavers in their area to develop highly detailed banded patterns rendered in vegetal dyes. Most Wide Ruins rugs are characterized by very fine, tightly-spun yarns and a flat, even weave. They feature the full range of new vegetal colors including soft green, mauve, terra cotta, and pale purple, pink and blue as well as the more common yellow, gold, brown, and tan. Burntwater, another center of vegetal dye weaving near Wide Ruins, has given its name to a distinctive rug type which combines the bordered, central geometric designs of modern Ganado and Two Grey Hills rugs with bright pastel, vegetal colors.

American Indian Rugs
native american rugs and pottery

native american rugs and pottery

Taking care of your Navajo rug will ensure that it can maintain its vibrant colors and stay in great shape for a long time. Here are some tips for caring for your rug. There are special cleaners for wool rugs that you can use to get rid of minor stains. When you follow these guidelines, you should have no little to no issues keeping your rug pristine.

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These intricate designs are a testament both to the weaver’s skill and artistic talent.

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native american indian design area rugs
native american indian design area rugs

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. One of the most popular designs that likely resulted from Moore’s work at Crystal was the Storm Pattern. It is generally defined as a central rectangle connected by zig-zag lines to smaller rectangles in each corner. The storm pattern often is said to have symbolic meaning: the zig-zags are lighting, the corner rectangles are the four sacred mountains of the Navajo or the four directions or the four winds, etc. Nevertheless, the great variety of interpretations suggests that meanings were assigned by traders and collectors, not by the Navajo themselves.

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During this difficult time, several traders realized that there could be an external market for Navajo weavings made as rugs rather than blankets. The nascent market for Indian rugs was fueled at the turn of the century by a growing national interest in Native peoples and artifacts. Well-heeled tourists to the Southwest wanted unique souvenirs of the exotic places and peoples they visited, and rugs could easily be incorporated into the highly eclectic and overstuffed interiors of the period.

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