Navajo Pictorial Rugs
Weavers of Navajo pictorial rugs draw inspiration from Navajo traditional and
contemporary lifestyles as well as aspects of contemporary culture.
Many collectors favor romantic representations of Navajo life featuring
hooghans (the Navajo traditional home), wagons, livestock and
traditionally dressed Navajo people placed within the red rock
landscape of the Navajo homeland, Dinetah. Modern conveniences such as
pickup trucks, TV antennas, and satellite dishes have crept into the
pictorial iconography. (Continued below.)
Navajo My Mothers Sheep Pictorial Rug - Ellen Descheny Tsosie (#08)
Navajo Rugs $225.00
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Navajo Animal Tree of Life Rug - Tabita Bitah (#044)
Navajo Rugs $900.00
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Navajo Goat Hair Pictorial Rug - Sarah Descheny (#120)
Navajo Rugs $89.00
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Navajo When All is Well Pictorial Rug - Cecelia Curley (#073)
Navajo Rugs $495.00
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Brown Sheep Company Pictorial Rug - Sarah Descheny (#118)
Navajo Rugs $49.00
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Navajo Three Dozen Sheep Pictorial Rug - Sarah Descheny (#116)
Navajo Rugs $550.00
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The earliest surviving documented Navajo weaving portraying pictorial
images is the Chief White Antelope blanket found in 1864 at the Sand
Creek Massacre site in Colorado. Navajo textile scholars Kate Peck
Kent, Joe Ben Wheat, Kathleen Whitaker and Nancy J. Blomberg by way of
written records have identified pictorial elements in Navajo blankets
as early as 1840 and it is most probable that images appeared in Navajo
blankets before that time.
Pictorial representations in Navajo
weaving have branched into several categories based on secular or
sacred images. Navajo religious figures such as yeis, the Navajo holy
people, and other elements from Navajo sandpainting art as well as
depictions of the sandpaintings themselves began to emerge in the late
1800’s. This sacred imagery has sinced evolved into substyles of
Navajo weaving known as Yei or Yeibichai rugs and Sandpainting rugs
which will be addressed separately.
Another popular image is the
Tree of Life. borrowed from early Armenian imagery bearing the same
name. Navajo Tree of Life weavings represent one of the best examples
of how a foreign idea can be introduced into Navajo artistic awareness
and reformulated to work within Navajo cultural expression.
Originally, the birds represented the spirits of the dead. During the
Christian era, the tree and birds became a symbol of the crucifixion
and resurrection of Christ. In the Navajo way of thinking, the tree
became a stalk of corn growing from the sacred ceremonial basket, a
symbol of life and the birds represent abundance and balance in nature.
Navajo pictorial rugs are now recognized as true Navajo folk
expression, a reflection of historic events whether the introduction of
the train to the reservation or the tragedy of 9/11. Mickey Mouse,
Santa Clause and Elvis have all found their way into Navajo pictorial
imagery. This category represents the most diverse arena of Navajo
weaving, accessible to any collector who hopefully approaches these
visions of Navajo and contemporary life with both a sense of humor and
a healthy dose of respect.
Artists who create Navajo Pictorial Rugs:
Twin Rocks Trading Post · P.O. Box 330 · 913 E. Navajo Twins Dr · Bluff,
UT 84512
Phone:
435-672-2341 · Toll-free
1-800-526-3448
Contact Twin Rocks Trading Post
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