Navajo plain field double saddle blanket
handspun wool
29 1/2" w x 48" long
circa 1911-1920 excellent condition
$8900.
After the Navajo learned weaving from their Pueblo neighbors, they began making prized and beautiful wearing blankets along with utilitarian textiles for everyday use and saddle blankets for their horses. The saddle blankets were woven in a single or double size in the latter case, the blanket could be folded in half, doubling the thickness of the blanket under the saddle and further cushioning the saddle.
As time went on, they began making double-saddle blankets that were finer than those they used everyday, often for the purpose of trading or selling the textile. This textile is one of a category that has been recognized for the past 20 years as having an extraordinary aesthetic, the plain field in the center flanked by an elaborate border.
The abrache of the browns accented by lazy lines capture the beauty of the fabulous landscape of the Southwest. This center is set off by the black and white border formed out of double-hooks or arrows on the side and a solid border on the top and bottom. The hook design most probably was influenced by kilim designs introduced to the weavers by JB Moore at Crystal Trading Post.
Marcy Burns American Indian Arts, LLC
525 East 72nd Street, Suite 26G
New York, New York 10021
(by appointment only)
