Introduction
Navajo rugs; the art which is approximately 150 years old
having its origin from United States. Navajo people of the Four Corners area of
United States are producing these rugs and blankets which is an important
element of Navajo economy.
Navajo textiles were originally useful as cloaks, dresses,
saddle blankets and similar purposes. At the end of 19th century
weavers began to make rugs for tourism and export. Typical textiles have strong
geometric patterns. Navajo weaving is similar to kilims of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, but there are definitely some noticeable differences. In Navajo weaving, the
slit weave technique common in kilims is not used, and the warp is one
continuous length of yarn, not extending beyond the weaving as fringe.
Navajo people acquired the lberian Churra breed of sheep
from Spanish explorers and now this breed is known as Navajo- Churro. These
sheep were well-suited to the climate in Navajo lands, and produced useful
long-staple wool.
Initially at mid 10th century to dye Navajo
weaving natural brown, white and indigo dyes were used. By the middle of the
century the palette had expanded to include red, black, green, yellow and gray.
Method of Weaving
Earlier, upright looms with no moving parts were used to weave
Navajo rugs and support poles were constructed of wooden or loom itself was set
up between two trees. Now days steel pipe is used in place of wood. A lower and
upper beam is attached to these wooden/steel pipe side supports. A smooth
straight stick or dowel is suspended from the upper beam while another is
lashed to the lower beam and upper bar is adjustable so it can be easily used
to adjust the tension. The warp thread is strung back and forth between two
inner sticks or beams. Artists sit on the floor during weaving and wrap the
finished portion of fabric underneath the loom as it grows.
There
are mainly four overlapping categories to produce Navajo rugs as per weaving
scholar Jo Ben Wheat.
First
Phase
Navajo
rugs were made from about 1800 to 1850 and consisted of black / brown and white
strips. Generally top, bottom and center stripes were wider than the other
strips while border stripes sometimes contained pairs of narrow indigo blue
stripes and outlining in very narrow stripes if raveled red.
Second Phase
Navajo
rugs included small red bars or rectangles at the center and end of the blue
stripes and were made about 1810 to 1870.
