Navajo weavings shown in Penfield Gallery are contemporary rugs made on the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico and Arizona. Many of the Navajo rugs are hand made from sheep's wool and take many hours of labor to produce. They are woven on a vertical loom.
Navajo rugs were traditionally named for the community or region in which they were woven. The regions were defined by trading posts. Regional areas like Two Grey Hills, Ganado, Teec Nos Pas, and Wide Ruins are familiar to rug collectors and buyers. Two Grey Hills rugs from the Two Grey Hills area in northwestern New Mexico are some of the most beautiful weavings made today. They are often made from natural sheeps wool. The mastery of the weaver to create rugs of complex patterns of diamonds and triangles with an exceptional fine weave while using many shades of brown and grey characterize Two Grey Hills' weavings.
Wide Ruins rugs are horizontally banded weavings that are often made from natural sheeps and vegetal dyed wools. Ganado weavings are distinguised by the use of a deep red color, which is termed Ganado Red and which made the area famous. The Teec Nos Pas weavings are from northeastern Arizona. The use of complex zigzag designs with an abundance of color outlined by a bold and complex border make these rugs some of the most highly prized weavings for collectors and interested buyers.
The Storm pattern rugs were produced mostly in the Western reservation. The Storm is an old pattern that was common the early 1900's. The lightning shapes in the storm link the four corners, which represent the Navajo's Four Sacred Mountains, to the center.
Chief, Moki, Eye Dazzler, and Germantown weavings are copies of earlier styles that were found on the reservation prior to the trading post. The Chief blanket represents an early weaving style that is made up of stripes and diamonds. The Chief weaving was highly valued by other tribes and especially by the Plains Indians.
The Germantown and Eye Dazzler rugs were a result of the introduction of commercial dyes and yarns by the early traders. The weavers' use of colors and complex, wild designs were unlimited. Today's Navajo weavers have done an outstanding job of recreating the excitement and look of the early Germantown and Eye Dazzler weavings.
Pictorial weavings including sandpainting rugs, and Yeii and Yei Bicheii rugs have a strong, Four Corners origin. The white background in the Yei rug is generally referred to as "The Shiprock Yei" rug. These rugs can be technically difficult to weave and are very popular among buyers and collectors today as they were in the last century.
Weavers now are both men and women, which is a change from the early weaving traditions where women were the primary rug creators. Weavers still stick to the styles of their particular regions, however, in the later part of the 20th century some weavers began combining some of the regional styles making sampler rugs with several in one weaving or a rug in a rug (e.g. a Storm in a Wide Ruins). Another change or innovation is that some weavers combine elements of various styles in one rug, for example, using pictorial elements in a Germantown weaving.
We represent several Navajo rug weavers, weaving rugs in a variety of styles. Among these artists are:
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