Saddle blanket

1870

"361-46" Double saddle blanket; akidah iinilii (Kluckhohn et.al. 1971:83-86); wool; 128 x 79 cm.; ca. 1870-1880.This blanket is woven from handspun natural white and aniline red wool. The all red background is more typically Navajo than the white preferred by Pueblo and Spanish American weavers. A blanket this size is folded in half and placed under the saddle with the folded edge in front and the ends with the ornamental tassels hanging from the rear. In some examples the tassels are quite long. Sometimes two blankets were used: one under the saddle and the other on top of it to make the rider more comfortable. Navajos also rode bareback with only a textile of the roughly appropriate size. However, for blankets specifically woven to cushion saddles techniques were used such as double weaves, twills, and two-faced, as were tufted angoras (Rodee 2002; Brown McGreevy 2002:52-60; Begay-Foss 2002).\(Rodee 2009)61-12, 13, 14, 45, 46, 47; 674-4; 2012-14, 15 Navajo textiles surgeon Washington Matthews, the first scientific fieldworker and expert on Navajo culture stressed: \"It is in the art of weaving that the Navahoes excel all other Indians within the borders of the United States. In durability, fineness of finish, beauty of design and variety of pattern, the Navaho blanket has no equal. ... The whole art of weaving among the Navahoes is worthy of close study for many reasons, but not least for a psychological reason. He pointed out that the Navajos adopted the craft out of their own volition, and developed it to such an extent that they became absolute masters in it. This exceptional cultural development required careful study and analysis, and he embarked on a series of publications that laid the foundation for Navajo textile studies (Matthews 1897:20; 1900:638; McGreevy 1997:19-22).‖ He pointed out that the Navajos adopted the craft out of their own volition, and developed it to such an extent that they became absolute masters of it. Previously they used twined bark fiber, grass and shredded yucca sleeping mats. These were replaced by buffalo skins, buckskins and sheepskins. They also wove blankets of rabbit skins on a vertical loom, using wool or buckskin for the warps, although rabbit skins were also sewn together to produce blankets. The latter were also provided bedding, but most rabbit skin blankets were used for dress, or carrying a baby (Kluckhohn et.al. 1971:181-188). Remains of Navajo textiles found during archaeological excavations point to Pueblo antecedents for these weavings.The Spanish introduced animal husbandry into the Southwest, and the Navajos became successful sheepherders. The neighboring Pueblo Indians transferred much of their ancient knowledge about the craft of loom-weaving to their hosts, especially after many of them took refuge with them after their revolt against the Spanish in 1680. Soon the Navajos were introducing textiles into their intertribal trading network, reaching beyond the Southwest and onto the Plains, and traded their valued manufactures with Spanish settlers. While early weavings were modeled after Pueblo textiles, the Navajos soon began to develop their own styles. Vegetal and mineral dyes were used to color the yarns. When the Santa Fe Trail opened in 1822, commercial yarns and new dyes became available in increasing quantity. Germantown yarns from Pennsylvania and other eastern states were readily adopted from the 1860s, and with the inclination towards innovation, the diversity of textiles increased significantly. On the Santa Fe Trail and later with the completion of the transcontinental railroad machine-woven textiles from the east flooded the Southwest, and Indian weaving declined. However, new markets opened, both in eastern states, as well as locally for an emergent tourist class, and Indian traders soon became involved in a rejuvenation of Navajo weaving.\Navajo textile studies have a long history. Washington Matthews, U.S. army surgeon, stationed at Fort Wingate in the early 1880s, published the earliest studies of Navaho weaving (1884, 1893, 1900). Collector George Wharton James (1914) provided an early comprehensive description of Navajo Indian blankets and their weavers, and Charles Avery Amsden followed with a monograph in 1934, much relying on Matthews' earlier work. In the 1930s Gladys Reichard published extensively on contemporary Navajo weaving (1934, 1936, 1936a, 1939). Harry P. Mera of the Laboratory of Anthropology introduced many corrections and refinements to earlier studies (1947). The 1972 and 1979 publications of Berlant and Kahlenberg promoted the awareness of the aesthetics of Navajo textiles in art circles, while Marian Rodee's (1978,1981,1987) publications, inspired by the collections at the Maxwell Museum of Anthropology in Albuquerque, NM, educated a wide public. The publication by the Southwest Parks and Monuments Association of a history of Navajo trading posts and their role in Navajo weaving (James 1976) kindled interest in ethnohistoric studies in this field. Kate Peck Kent (1985) provided a comprehensive treatment of all aspects of Navajo weaving, the culmination of almost a lifetime of study (1961, 1983). The National Museum of the American Indian provided a Native point of view in the presentation of its own collection (Bonar 1996). Joe Ben Wheat's lifetime of research on Navaho and other Indian textiles was crowned with Ann Lane Hedlund's edition of his monumental "Blanket Weaving in the Southwest" (2003; cf. Wheat 1973; Hedlund 1990).（Hovens 2009）Navajo textiles. After the Pueblo Indians rebelled against Spanish rulers in 1680, many joined the Navajos for fear of reprisal, leading to further adoption of cultural elements. Sheep farming, wool spinning, and blanket weaving by Navajos date back to the seventeenth century and were learned both through intertribal trade contacts and through the absorption of Pueblo slaves and refugees. Over a period of three and a half centuries, the Navajo wove blankets. Art historians distinguish a number of style periods that were largely determined by historical events: the Classical period (Classic: 1650-1865), the Transitional period (Transitional: 1865-1895), and the Rug period (Rug: 1895-present).As the Navajos were originally hunters, gatherers, and warriors, weaving was considered a household task and assigned to the women. Among the Pueblos, it was the men who were behind the loom while among the Zunis, both sexes did this work. According to Navajo legend, Spider Man had shown them how to make a loom and Spider Woman had taught the women how to use it.At first, only one's own needs determined the production of blankets. The intertribal and interethnic trade of the Navajos expanded in the eighteenth century and blankets became increasingly important as a commodity. Their quality, expressed in aesthetics and durability, often even waterproofing of the fabric, was recognized by others. Pueblos, Utes, Apaches, and Comanches acquired blankets through barter, and Spaniards and Mexicans also purchased blankets with money or Western trade goods.In the eighteenth century, the distinction between Navajo and Pueblo weavings blurred. In addition to blankets, serapes (long shouldered cloaks of the Spanish model) and mantas (traditional wide shawls or shrugs), shirts, loincloths and girdles were woven. In addition, many saddle blankets were woven which are of a somewhat smaller size and are sometimes referred to as "children's blankets". Besides natural dyes the indi-go, introduced by the Spaniards, was used. The terrace-pattern of triangles and diamonds was one of the stylistic characteristics of blankets from the Classic Period. Many blankets displayed a simpler striped pattern. Such a blanket with an added block, bar or diamond pattern but of extremely high quality was the chief blanket, so called because of its quality and value and because its possession contributed to the status of the wearer. In time, the beam shapes evolved into lozenges and the striped pattern was pushed into the background.‖ Spanish sometimes captured Navajos during punitive expeditions and they were employed as slaves in Spanish households in the settlements along the Rio Grande. The Navajos who turned to weaving mixed Spanish and Navajo elements in their blankets referred to as "slave blankets." During the period of Mexican Intermediate Administration that lasted from 1821 to 1848, colors and shapes of Navajo blankets were influenced by weavings from Mexico that were more multicolored and displayed more com-plex motifs.During the Spanish era, Santa Fe was the hub of trade in the Southwest and goods, including Navajo blankets, were transported overland to Mexico from here. After the pacification of the Utes and Comanches by the Spaniards in the first decade of the nineteenth century, trade traffic in the Southwest was able to expand and intensify. Navajo blankets were spread over an increasingly large area through intertribal trade, even reaching the central Plains. When the Americans reached Santa Fe from the east across the Plains in 1821 and took control in 1848, the city experienced a new boom through trade and became the outlet for Native Americans. The sudden influx of new settlers led to Indian resistance and the Navajos attacked settlements in the Rio Grande Valley. In 1863, Colonel Kit Carson undertook a punitive expedition against the tribe, rounding up 8,000 people and deporting them to Bosque Redondo near Fort Sumner in central New Mexico. At the beginning of this transition period, the Indians were introduced to industrially produced woollen and cotton yarns that were gradually replacing their own spun yarns. The new yarns also offered a wider range of colors than the spun wool treated with natural dyes. The aniline dyes were also used to colour the own hand-spun yarns. New patterns were adopted, including crosses, zigzag lines, etc. The narrow striped colored blankets gained popularity, as did the Mexican-inspired "Saltillo" pattern characterized by serrated checks and borders. When this serrated and repetitive pattern was done in bright colors, the eye had difficulty grasping the pattern and people spoke of Òeye-dazzlersÓ because of the optical effect.Ó Traditional Navajo clothing was gradually replaced by Western-made clothing and blankets but Native American wool blankets continued to be worn. In 1868, the Navajos were allowed to return to their homeland on the Colorado Plateau where a reservation had been designated for them.‖ The weaving of blankets also underwent new influences on the reservation. Blankets that had been woven up to that point showed almost only geometric patterns. Now, natu-ral elements such as flowers, animals and human figures also appeared. Because the Santa Fe Railroad made a big impression on the Indians, trains were also included as a motif. This category of blankets is called "pictorial rugs". After 1890, traders motivated the Navajos to adapt patterns, colors and sizes of blankets to the tastes and needs of whites to increase their sales. Especially Lorenzo Hubbell in Ganado and J.B. Moore in Crystal took initiatives in that area. This led to the weaving of rugs, floor, wall and tablecloths, and the adoption of motifs seen on rugs with Oriental patterns. Vertical compositions of patterns and borders were also adopted. In the area of the Two Gray Hills trading post, such rugs were woven in neutral colors from home-spun wool. From the late 1980s, the trading posts supplied yarns made in Germantown, Pennsylvania, because their quality was the best. Aniline dyes with a wider range of colors, including pastels, were also offered. Regional styles began to develop based on material, patterns, and colors. Differences in quality were determined by the target group for the blankets. Mass-produced blankets for the army and tourists were less demanding than those made for personal use. The highest quality requirements were set for blankets that served to underline one's status and pieces intended for collectors and museums.From 1910 on, Navajo gods, so-called yeis, were also depicted on pictorial rugs, despite the taboo on them. The designs were derived from sand paintings made by medi-cine men during ceremonies. Whites considered these ´´yei´´ blankets authentic, and the demand for them continued to increase over the years. It was mainly in the Shiprock area that these blankets were first woven.After 1919, a renaissance of the traditional craft took place and it is referred to as a period of revival. The stimulus for the use of hand-spun wool, traditional patterns and natural dyes came from Cozy McSparron, the owner of the Chinle trading post, and Mary Cabot Wheel-wright, a wealthy philanthropist who founded a museum in Santa Fe. Over the years, more and more Navajos began to produce their blankets in the traditional manner. The demand from white tourists and collectors changed in the same period. On the Navajo reservation, in hogans and off, there are still many looms where women work. The making of home carpets is inspired by cultural traditions that have changed over the centuries but still remain alive today. Production for whites, whether quality rugs for the art market and collectors or simple rugs for the tourist industry, is motivated by economic interest, since few opportunities for work and income exist on the woeful Colorado Plateau."(PH, 2000)