Origin:  Diné [Navajo]; Navajo Nation, Southwest USA. [W9901]

Comments. Approximately 100 years ago, this 33”x49” “double” saddle blanket was hand-woven by a Diné [Navajo] woman on an upright loom. Saddle blankets were woven to prevent saddles from rubbing sores into a horse’s back. “Double” means it was made long enough to be folded in half under the saddle to create a thicker pad, but still wide enough so the blanket border would be visible beneath the saddle. As with all “old time”, historic Diné weavers, this weaver envisioned her design before ever starting to weave—envisioned it all in her mind…NO designing on paper.  She created a delightful abstract art positive/negative fret border by weaving natural dark brown single fret designs interlocked with natural white single frets.  This border design makes a dramatic ‘frame’ for her saddle blanket. Her blanket design would have had dramatic visual impact when folded double under a saddle with that fret border hanging out below the saddle, framing its edges. This border indicates the weaver really cared about her weaving because it took many more hours of spinning wool and then weaving for her to produce this border design. A simple 1 color border would have taken many fewer hours of challenging work.
Her abstract art design is extended to the plain center field of the weaving. Her use of differing shades and patterns of natural color variegations in the wool reminds me of the differing colors of sedimentary rock layers characteristic of the Diné landscape.  For me, those variations in the central field resemble the many mesas that dominate the landscape in the weaver’s Navajo Nation homeland landscape.  Her creation of some areas with lighter variegated wool and others with darker variegated wool also remind me of the shadow effects on the landscape as the light shifts with clouds drifting across the awesome western sky!
Notice that those variegated layers of wool are interrupted by long slanted lines in the weaving—some slanted to the left, some slanted to the right.  Those lines are in fact characteristic of antique Diné weaving.  Here’s a simplified explanation of what they are.  In historic Diné weaving, seldom was a weaving completed in ‘one sitting’ in one time period.  Instead, different sections of weft were woven at different times, and were woven with a slant on the unfinished side of the weft section.  When the weaving was resumed to create the next weft section, the Diné weaver used an innovative weaving technique to join the new weft section to the previous weft section.  That technique of joining weft sections resulted in a structurally sound, finished weaving.
            Traders dubbed such lines, “lazy lines”, which is an offensive insult, implying they are there because the weavers were “lazy”. That’s an ABSURD, IDIOTIC, IGNORANT LIE, ...and is RACIST.  So I personally refuse to use that false, offensive term--& I encourage you to refuse to use it.  Instead, use the alternative, fact-based term I coined:  “smart lines”.  “Smart” because they were a structurally sound way of joining woven individual weft sections into an integrated, strong whole.  But also very smart in enabling efficient, effective, superb weaving under historically challenging conditions.  Historic Diné weavings resulted from thousands of hours of hard work just to raise the sheep to produce the wool.  Then the dedicated weaver had to clean [& in some cases, dye], and spin the wool before even beginning to weave, which itself took hundreds or thousands of hours at the loom.  There’s NO “lazy” in Diné weaving!

            So when I view this weaving hanging on a wall vertically, I see abstract outlines of mountains and mesas, formed by the weaver’s purposeful placement of the variegated wool and the ‘smart lines’.  I can visualize her sitting at her outdoor upright loom, inspired by the surrounding landscape of her Diné homeland, to recreate it in abstract form in her weaving. Awesome! Was it the weaver’s intention to depict an abstract landscape with outlines of mountains or mesas? I don’t know. But I personally think it’s highly unlikely those figures and patterns could have happened randomly without specific intent & careful weaving by the weaver. Regardless of whether the weaver intended to represent her homeland landscape, the center panel is an awesome abstract geometric art design that I believe was intentional and consistent with this creative weaver’s vision!

Provenance:  from my personal collection;  Purchased at an estate auction in 1993.

Size:  approximately 33” wide by 49.5” long.
Condition.  As shown in photos. Professionally cleaned.  NO fading on either side; NO moth damage; NO odors of tobacco, chemicals, fragrances. We are: non-smokers! We do NOT use chemical moth repellants of any type. Our house is MOLD-free, fragrance-free, chemical-free, Covid-free.
Materials.  Navajo hand-spun sheep wool.  Warps: 7 per inch; natural white    Wefts:  18 per inch; natural white, natural variegated grey-brown, and dark brown.  Selvedge cords: natural dark brown.  Tassels:  natural white and dark brown
Written Authenticity Guarantee.  Navajo hand-woven ‘double’ saddle blanket, c. 1910-20; approximately 33” by 49.5”.  All materials are Navajo hand-spun sheep wool, consisting of 7 warps per inch in natural white wool, and 18 wefts per inch in natural white, natural variagated grey-brown, and dark brown.
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