a few weeks ago i was lent an amazing book about monument valley, containing these great photos of navajo weaving.
blankets and rugs were woven in wool, coloured using natural dyes (later substituted for modern dyes to allow greater range of colour). navajo weaving is highly distinctive and certain patterns can be used to trace the time and place an item was woven.
blankets have a particular importance to the navajo population. used both every day and ceremonially, they also hold value and were used for trading. in 1909 pendleton woolen mills manufactured their own trading blankets which were sold to the navajo people. pendleton designer joe rawnsley researched colours and patterns popular to tribes. these were then translated using modern weaving techniques.
the pendleton blankets were highly prized, the last photo show a navajo woman wearing a pendleton blanket in the 1940's.
1 comment:
Liz this is so cool! Craig is guna freak when he sees it! :) x
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