Antique Museum Native American Navajo Wool Native American Paths Cross Stitch Weaving Textile Horse Blanket

Very old antique Navajo Native American woven textile, with hand stitched cross stitched symbols. Blanket/horse pad liner is woven with a type of wool yarn, and plant cellulose cording yarn. Stitch has properties of very old dye. Symbol of cross is a symbol meaning paths crossing, or life's journey. This is an older version of the cross symbol, hybrid with the arrow symbol, as both sides of cross morph into arrows, meaning protection/swiftness to and from destination. In between are horizontal line symbols. Very light weight for an older textile. Appears to be a very old Navajo textile, as the earliest examples are somewhat plain and devoid of color comparative with the later textiles, with splashes of red and blue when available, through textiles brought from Spain.

Earliest Navajo weavings were blankets, woven wider than long, and designed with simple stripes of white and brown. One fragment also exhibited some blue striping. It is known that a blue dye was available and used by the Navajo. This was called indigo and was available as early as 1600 to the Navajo through trade from Mexico. This dye was traded in cakes made from the extract of the leaves and stems of the indigofera shrub, a relative of the pea native to India, the Near East, and South East Asia.
 

Also, earlier Navajo textiles show the cross as the most common early Native symbol; commemorating the tale of Spider Woman. (In the legend Spider Woman teaches the Navajo to weave).

Prior to 1900, old Navajo wearing blankets often carried symbols or motifs that were attached to the teachings of Spider Woman. The the symbol or motif that dominated those early blankets was the cross. Very good, early example; worthy of more research. There is some discoloration on the edge that resembles foxing on watercolor paintings, and a couple of minor spots of discoloration through out from age. Weave has some pulls, but over all integrity of textile is completely intact, strong, and stable. There are two black markings on the back, possibly from a museum, or estate. One appears to have the year, which looks like 85 in a circle, but is difficult to decipher. The other, possibly an identification for the symbols, meaning, owner, or artist. Size is approximately 35.5" X 38". Estimated to have been created approximately 1880 to 1890.

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