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Navajo saddle blanket, c. 1920-1930: 90 yr. old beauty [W9733]
American Indian Antique Art and Southwest Native Originals
This antique Navajo saddle blanket is the "real deal"--envisioned and woven by its creative weaver to be beautiful, dramatic art while used in real life as a Dine saddle blanket--not woven for sale to tourists . The Dine weaver of this 1920-1930s, double saddle blanket had great artistic vision: dramatically setting off the plain, natural brown center field with that bold, orange border, accentuated with an outer dark brown border. Imagine how that looked on the back of a favorite horse, draped under a saddle with the orange and dark brown borders showing around the saddle. This delightfully bold abstract art design now makes superb antique wall art, while providing a window into Dine history and culture!
Dimensions. Approximating 34 x 53”.
PRICE: $3800 USD. US sale and ship only.
CALL 703-801-2565 to discuss purchase and ship options.
Buy without worries!! (1) Written authenticity guarantee from 28 yr. member of Authentic Tribal Art Dealers Asso. [ATADA.org]. (2) To protect your health and the integrity of this antique Navajo weaving art: NO returns, refunds, exchanges unless otherwise agreed in writing. (3) Virus-FREE! We, our inventory and our packing materials have been fully protected from Covid virus exposures. (4) To protect YOUR HEALTH and ours: ALL our inventory is FREE of chemicals, fragrances, mold, odors, smoking, moths.
Written Authenticity Guarantee: Navajo hand-woven double saddle blanket, c.1920-30; approximating 34 x 53”. Warps: Navajo hand-spun sheep wool; 7per inch of natural white/beige wool. Wefts: Navajo hand-spun sheep wool; 28-30 weft per inch of 5 colors—natural black, light brown, dark brown; synthetic-dyed dark orange; light orange. Selvedge cords: Navajo hand-spun natural black and dark brown sheep wool.
$3,800.00
Artwork details
Origin
Navajo Nation, USA Southwest
Dimension
Condition
Professionally cleaned. NO fade. NO dye bleed. NO moth damage. NO toxic moth treatments. NO odors of tobacco, chemicals, fragrance. NO mold. Professional repair of minor selvedge breaks and of warp and weft breaks on corners. Photo colors: the orange is difficult for even the best camera to accurately depict because it looks and photographs differently in different lighting. So I posted several different photos to show how differently it can look. Whatever the lighting, it is wonderful, antique, original abstract art. The weaving plain brown center field and the dark brown outer border have color variation solely due to natural variegation in Navajo sheep wool colors. To me, the weaving's natural wool variations in color and pattern are a wonderful reminder of the mesa landscape that is so distinctive in the Navajo Nation and surrounding region! Did this skilled weaver purposely arrange those variegated natural yarns to simulate that awesome mesa landscape of her beloved Dinetah? We do not know, but I sure see that landscape in her weaving. Orange Color Variation is NOT orange dye fade. Notice the bottom section of the weaving where the orange border is a lighter shade of synthetic-dyed orange wool [see photos]. That is NOT fade. Rather, it is orange-dyed wool from a 2nd, different orange dye batch, in which the wool came out a lighter shade of orange than the 1st darker orange dye batch. That happens when the original batch of dyed wool runs out, and to finish the weaving, she prepares a 2nd batch of orange-dyed wool. In that situation, it is nearly impossible to match the previous dye batch color shade. That type of dye batch color variation also occurs in Oriental carpets, and is referred to as abrash. Those of us who love antique Navajo hand-woven textile art, appreciate weavings with abrash in them. In this case, I personally love the visual effect of the 2 different oranges. For me it adds to the overall effect of this wonderful abstract art creation. We treasure, respect and collect antique Navajo weaving art for its awesome beauty, unique artistic vision, and creativity--they move us spiritually and aesthetically. They provide a window into Dine history and culture. We always are awed in knowing their creation requires hundreds or even thousands of hours of dedicated hand labor using knowledge and skills inherited from Dine ancestors.