Navajo weaving: three centuries of change

Kent, Kate Peck

Book

Navajo weaving: three centuries of change

School of American Research Press ; Distributed by University of Washington Press • Santa Fe, N.M. • Published In 1985 • Pages: x, 139

By: Kent, Kate Peck, School Of American Research (Santa Fe, N.M.).

Abstract
This document deals with the origin and evolution of Navajo weaving from about 1650 to the 1980s. For descriptive purposes, Kent classifies Navajo weaving into three major periods: the Classic, from 1650 to 1865; the Transition, from 1865 to 1895; and the Rug, from 1895 to the 1980s. During the Classic period Navajo weavers directed much of their time and energy toward producing clothing for their own people. The Transition period from the middle to late nineteenth century involved less production of clothing for themselves, and more, especially in terms of blankets and serapes, for trade with their traditional customers and with the Anglos. With the introduction of new aniline dyes and ready-made clothing and commercial cloth during the late nineteenth century, the need for loom produced woven products was greatly lessened, and thus turned the attention of the weavers to production for an off-reservation market. This period, which the author refers to as the Rug period, essentially involved the conversion of blankets to rugs for the Anglo market. This study describes the myriad inflluences brought to bear on Navajo weavers over the centuries, and the creative ways in which new ideas and materials were assimilated into the textile industry.

Artifact and archive collections

Acculturation and culture contact

Sociocultural trends

Pastoral activities

Wool production

Woven and other interworked fabrics

Visual arts

Navajo

HRAF PubDate

2004

Region

North America